In spite of the fact that I had a painful stomach virus and have been emotionally processing my concerns for the Haiti catastrophe, I have not been able to write an effective blog post.  Yes, I have many ideas of WHAT I want to write about but I just cannot seem to get my thoughts out of my head onto the proverbial paper.  I decided unequivocally within myself when I started my blog that I would not let it fall to the wayside.  I don’t want to become a blog statistic.    So, as always, I used my trusted friend Google to see what tips I could find from others that have suffered the same diagnosis.   I’ve identified and assembled some of the top tips from other bloggers.

1. Start with a headline. This is essentially what I have done today.  The easiest blog I can write about is my current problem.   Plus, it allows me to “hone down” into a specific problem area and find solutions for it.
2. Brainstorm. For someone like me who has so many different thoughts run through her brain and  is quite an over-achiever, it may be good just to get into an empty room with no distractions and just type incessantly.  The brainstorming session can actually create several various topics to write on to which later you can separate (if need be) and clean up for posting.
3. Lower Your Standards. With many things in life, I think it is natural to want to be the best and be able to offer the best advice.  Remember there are millions of blogs out there.  You are the best at what YOU do and what YOU have experienced.  You don’t have to be a genius—just give advice on what you know and your experience and I guarantee that will help someone out.
4. Set Goals and Stick to Them. The funny thing is that I started this post a week ago and told myself that I was going to post it on the day I started it.  Much to my dismay, it’s now a week later.   Discipline yourself and once you have established a pattern, it will become a habit that you will easily follow.

Now I’ve only listed four but there are SO many tips from other bloggers out there.  Regardless of what may have you suffering from Blogger Block, find the avenue that works for YOU.  One important fact I want to mention is that whatever you blog about, make sure that it is passion-infused with you and your brand.   You do not want to TRY to become something that you are not as it will show in your writing.

This quote from poet William Stafford sums it up:

“I believe that the so-called ‘writing block’ is a product of some kind of disproportion between your standards and your performance … one should lower his standards until there is no felt threshold to go over in writing. It’s easy to write. You just shouldn’t have standards that inhibit you from writing … I can imagine a person beginning to feel he’s not able to write up to that standard he imagines the world has set for him. But to me that’s surrealistic. The only standard I can rationally have is the standard I’m meeting right now … You should be more willing to forgive yourself. It doesn’t make any difference if you are good or bad today. The assessment of the product is something that happens after you’ve done it.”

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