4 Tips for Avoiding Writer’s Block with Your Blog


April 27, 2016

Whether you have a blog that needs updating daily, weekly, or even monthly, writer’s block is something that happens to the best of us. If it’s your first blog post you may be stuck thinking that every word should be perfect. If it’s your 100th post, it’s possible nothing new is happening and you feel like your only options are topics you’ve written about before.

Whatever the case, it’s important to keep in mind that one blog post (99% of the time) does not make or break a business. If there’s a blog deadline looming and you’re starting to sweat it, try some of these tips to kickstart your creativity and avoid writer’s block.

1. Free Write

If you’re unsure what to write about, sitting there staring at a blank piece of paper or Word doc won’t offer up any inspiration. Instead, do a little free writing! Free writing can also be described as stream-of-consciousness writing. Write whatever comes to mind. If that seems a little too “out there” for you, just begin writing about what you accomplished this week, new things you learned, or just your day to day. Getting those thoughts rolling can help spark some ideas and make you feel less stagnant and stuck while staring at a blank sheet.

If you find that you have this problem a lot when writing for your blog, it might be a good idea to take 15-20 minutes out of your day to just jot down any thoughts you might have. Once that weekly or monthly blog rolls around, you’ll have those little entries to look back on and some ideas to possibly build off of.

2. Do Something Else Creative

If your line of work is inherently left-brain dominant or if you don’t consider yourself a creative-type, do something else creative first and then come back to writing. If you’re someone who usually deals with numbers or roofing or cars it can be hard to switch over to blogging with ease.

Now if you’re thinking, “well if I’m not creative enough to write a blog post what other creative things would I be able to do?” — it’s pretty simple. Sit and listen to some music for a few minutes (make it classical or jazz if you want to really hone in on that creativity). Do some doodles (stick figures are fine) or cook something.

If you’re already creatively inclined but struggling with writer’s block, try to paint, write some poetry, or — if you prefer to work digitally — you can play with Photoshop or do some re-designing on your website.

Getting those creative juices flowing will ultimately get you in the right mindset to sit down and let those ideas fly.

3. Sleep On It

Research has proven that your mind subconsciously works on a problem even if you’re not consciously thinking about it. If it’s late and you’re tired and you’re not getting any inspiration, just go to sleep and wake up to write first thing in the morning.

Your brain is still in Theta mode, the brain pattern when you’re dreaming, and that’s been proven to be the most productive (and creative!) time. So wake up, pull out your laptop, brew yourself a cup of coffee, and get writing. It’s okay to start at this time with a little free writing as well to give yourself some momentum and then do what you can to get that blog going.

4. Remove All Distractions

Maybe you’re in a noisy crowded office or perhaps you work from home with kids running around the house. In either case, you’re not going to get anything accomplished if you can’t focus. This would be a good time to throw on those headphones and play some classical music. If you can’t put on headphones because you’re being forced to multitask, it would be best to come back to the writing at a different time when you can put 100% of your attention on the task at hand.

Don’t try to write while sitting in front of the TV. And, if you’re someone who gets a little too distracted by those clickbait articles, there are several great apps such as Citrus or, for those who are a bit more serious about their writing, there’s Ommwriter which blocks you from visiting certain websites for any length of time or until a certain word count has been reached.

An important thing to remember is that you can overcome writer’s block by writing. Don’t get discouraged, even if you find yourself in this position every time. Content creation is important and blogging can be critical to the success of your business.

So open up that computer, start typing, and happy blogging!


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is a strategist, speaker, educator, and author of Brand Now: How to Stand Out in a Crowded, Distracted World and Get Scrappy: Smarter Digital Marketing for Businesses Big and Small. He is the Chief Brand Strategist at Brand Driven Digital, an educator at the University of Iowa, and host of the On Brand podcast. More about Nick.