Do You Use Your Own Writing Advice?
I wrote some helpful advice, I’m glad — I needed it!
I recently wrote an article about ideas for your next post. As a writer, I would like to be authentic and make sure my advice is practical.
As someone who wants to practice what he preaches, I decided to put my own advice to the test. For my next post, I chose one of the tips from the article and applied it to my own blog.
OK, I’m lying.
I have about 200+ drafts that I have added over the last 6 months. Some of them are 10 words, some of them around 400. And many in between. I wanted to pick one of them and develop it, but my brain stopped working.
I couldn’t improve or mature any of them. Reading them over and over just made it harder. I had a few that are about 90% done, but I couldn’t get to the last 10% either.
It felt like I suddenly was transported from deep Amazonian forests into the middle of the Sahara! My thinking went dry.
I realize this has a name — writers’ block. I finally experienced it after a long, long time. Maybe you experience this too!
Normally, this would not be a big deal. However, I recently gave myself a goal of finishing 500 posts by the end of 2022. Read more about it here if you are curious.
I would have to write approximately 8–9 posts a week to get there. I know every day counts. There will be days I cannot write (if I’m sick or if there is an emergency). But today was not such a day. I had time, just couldn’t get anything out of my brain into the keyboard.
But I had to publish something, so I started looking for something to write about. Giving up was not an option (at least until I hit the wall). I decided to start something fresh.
I remembered that I had recently read an article with over 20 tips for coming up with your next blog post. And I thought to myself, “Hey, I should try following my own advice!” So that’s exactly what I did.
A little background: The original article was called “Want awesome ideas for your next post?”
I could hear myself mumbling — Yes please, if not awesome ideas, at least some average ones would do!
It’s a listicle of sorts, with tips like “Reread your old articles and see if you can find a new angle” and “Write about something you’re passionate about.” I won’t bore you with the rest of the list, but suffice it to say that I found my next blog post topic courtesy of my own advice.
You can read the article here if you are curious.
I reread some of my old articles and looked for a new angle on a familiar topic. I came across the very second article I ever wrote. It was about climate change, and I decided to update it with my current thoughts on the subject. The result was this post.
I was able to turn that one article into two, and I’m really happy with how they turned out.
Now I’m keen to use all the ideas, not just those that inspired this post. I would like to experiment more deliberately and see how it goes. Maybe my next post will be from applying one of the other 20+ ideas! Stay tuned to find out.
I’m going to be on the lookout for new ideas to add to the list. So if you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments!
What do you think? Have you ever used your own advice? What was the result? I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Let’s continue the conversation!
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