Writer's Block

[chaplainandrews]

I think we have all faced a blank computer screen with nothing to write about. Many times I will go to books and writing prompts to get my mind working toward a project.

One of my favorites is No One Cares What You Had For Lunch: 100 Ideas For Your Blog I've used this from time to time--especially when I was starting out or pressed for time.

What do you do to put something online?

[Jen]

Very low-tech, I know, but I carry a small notebook and pencil in my back pocket, everywhere, all day long. Whenever an idea occurs, or even a fragment of an idea, I jot it down. When stuck for ideas, a quick flip through the notebook will invariably turn up something I feel like writing about that day.

And when you're "in the zone" for creativity, it helps to write an extra post or two and save them in draft for any really long fallow spell, or a period when other commitments are too pressing to allow much time/energy for blogging.

[Educator]

Very low-tech, I know, but I carry a small notebook and pencil in my back pocket, everywhere, all day long. Whenever an idea occurs, or even a fragment of an idea, I jot it down. When stuck for ideas, a quick flip through the notebook will invariably turn up something I feel like writing about that day.

And when you're "in the zone" for creativity, it helps to write an extra post or two and save them in draft for any really long fallow spell, or a period when other commitments are too pressing to allow much time/energy for blogging.

I find, Jen, that I do that a lot............write several posts in one sitting and then simply future date them. I find I have more time on weekends to write so most of my posts are actually done then.

During the week I have to attend to the day job (darn!) and other matters.
Dan

[guioconnor]

Very low-tech, I know, but I carry a small notebook and pencil in my back pocket, everywhere, all day long.

Low tech is good.

Electronic Technology is fantastic, but it is quite a mistake to believe we should rely on it all the time. Still today Hi-Tech devices have usability limitations that previous devices had overcome centuries ago, or even never had them.

And it seems to me that it will still take an awful lot of time until all electronic devices are at least as usable as everything that existed before them.

Personally, I have a Moleskine and I glue into it every piece of design a like and I can put my hand on (based on a suggestion I read on this book). I also write ideas that come to my mind.

[chaplainandrews]

...write several posts in one sitting and then simply future date them.

I'm glad that I'm not the only one to do this. I feel bad, though, when I do--it is seems as if it is not as authentic if your "Daily blog" is prepared several days in advance.

[guioconnor]

I'm glad that I'm not the only one to do this. I feel bad, though, when I do--it is seems as if it is not as authentic if your "Daily blog" is prepared several days in advance.

I don't think there is a moral problem, unless the blog says that the its content is made of your daily thoughts or something like that.

Ultimately, is not the day you wrote it, but the day you thought it that could matter. If you write your idea on a notebook to make it a post later won't make any difference to your reader and will only harm your writing process.

[chaplainandrews]

I don't think there is a moral problem, unless the blog says that the its content is made of your daily thoughts or something like that.

I think the confusion comes when the idea of blogging is perceived as a "daily log".

[Jen]

I think the confusion comes when the idea of blogging is perceived as a "daily log".

You have a point. "Blog" is short for "weblog" or "web log" -- and too many of us were brought up on Captain James T. Kirk faithfully recording the unfolding events on Stardate whatever-whatever. Diaries / journals on paper carry the same weight of compulsion and guilt -- historically a daily account, so that's what some corner of our mind seems to expect. Easier sometimes to think of a blog as a publication or news cast or editorial column or such, rather than a "log" per se: maybe it is published hourly, daily, weekly, or somewhere in between... the frequency doesn't seem to matter as much as a certain consistency, if you look across the range of posting schedules in the so-called A -List. Hard to get out from under that niggling little "shoulda posted today" guilt, though, isn't it?

[chaplainandrews]

...Easier sometimes to think of a blog as a publication or news cast or editorial column...

I think that is truly what blogs are becoming. Actually, one of the reasons I began blogging was that I actually wanted to produce a daily column. I was successful for almost a year--then I realized that I was doing a lot of work. Especially, when I changed chaplainandrews.com over from a static site to a blog.

And yes, I have a terrible time shaking the "I hafta blog today" guilties.

[soniasimone]

I really like Backpack for storing little bits and ideas that can turn into posts. I am a paper & pen junkie, but Moleskines fill up and I like being able to store reference material right there with ephemera. Also, I use two machines in two different places, so it's very handy to always have my stuff where I need it.

I usually make notes and jots on paper, then transfer to Backpack when I can't stand all the little bits fluttering on my desk.

I use Backpack to store and organize: text files with partly-written draft posts; copies of images I may want to use; quotes; notes and idea fragments I can expand; links; the occasional note about what I've already done (esp. for my relationship marketing series); html code snippets I always forget, like wrapping copy around an image; my Feedburner stats taken on the 15th & 1st of the month so I can see my (slow) growth; Amazon Affiliate links for works I mention more frequently; guest post ideas; and a post I wrote about the Holocaust that I probably will never post.

I also keep client stuff like backups of work I do for them, invoices, etc. I just started using Highrise for my contacts, and it's verrry nice.

My Backpack is just like my desk(s), it probably looks pretty scary to anyone else, but I know where all my stuff is and it's very handy for me.