Lately I've seen a few bloggers get a little overwhelmed with blogging and taking a break. With many valid reasons ranging from not enough time, to too much school/work or just going through a slump. There are many great posts about why this is not a problem - and it is definitely not!! - but I wanted to talk about how to get your blogging mojo back! And how to maintain it! These ideas I've come up with may not be helpful or apply to you specifically but I'm throwing them out there anyways!
1. When you get an idea, write it down
Sometimes some crazy (good?) ideas for a blog post can come to you at odd times, so you should always be prepared to make a note of them! On your phone or in a special handy dandy notebook (Blue's Clues anyone?). Because often if you think "Oh I'll remember," chances are you won't. Or if you do you'll think it's not a great idea anyways but perhaps seeing that idea written down some days or weeks later will inspire something new or a new take on it. And for me, if I have trouble thinking of what new post to come up with, referring to my list of ideas will spark something in me to talk about and I'll be set for another day.
2. Read a short story
And review it! Sometimes it's hard to find the time to read a book, but short stories are so easy to start and finish and then you can make post of a short review! And it's okay if it is short - there is nothing wrong with just putting down some thoughts on the story and doing away with your strict, analytical approach to reviews (if that's your thing). Authors are putting out a lot of short prequels or stories to go along with their books, and I for one would appreciate reading some thoughts on them from other bloggers (sometimes so I'll even know that they exist and I should go and check them out!)
3. Pace Yourself
There are times, happily, when you are on fire with writing those posts! You have a backlog of books read and some ideas for other posts and you fire them all out in a space of a couple of weeks. And then you are overwhelmed again with things. If you have an idea that this might happen to you, why not schedule those posts a little further apart and give yourself more of a safety net so that when you can't post you have something locked and loaded. You don't have to post every day - you can spread them out a little (like twice or three times a week) and see how your schedule goes - and if you can maintain your productivity for awhile then start scheduling more within a week.
4. Visit other blogs
You might not have time or inclination to write for your own blog, but if you have time to browse the internet, why not steer clear of tumblr (just for a little bit!) and check out what other people are doing or saying. It could help jumpstart your interest in blogging for yourself or inspire you to pick up something new to read. And it's encouraging to see other people continuing on with blogging and seeing what they are putting out there. Let them rekindle the interest for you.
5. Book blog, schmook blog
Yes, we are book bloggers and reading is kind of our thing, but not every post has to be about books! If you are currently obsessed with _____ (fill in the blanks) then just post about it! Your personality shines through in these posts and I think that is interesting for any blog reader. And it doesn't have to be a recurring theme or feature, either. You don't have to feel constricted by the book blogger label - it's your blog and you can do whatever you want! Talk about what you love and why you love it! Or in the case of being too busy with work or school, talk about what is interesting or not about what you are doing. Just change the format whenever you wish!
If you have any more ideas for things that work for you I'd love for you to share them in the comments!
