Bloggers' Block?

[Nicola O.]

I've been reading as much as ever but finding it hard to get motivated to write reviews and posts. I'm in a bit of a slump. I think I'd like to take a bit of a break, but I'm torn because I don't want to lose my regular readers.

Anyone else in the same boat? Or managed to get rowing again? Or bailed out? Or... some other metaphor that works better?

[Greg Zimmerman]

...must be the weather. I feel your pain. I sort of half-as$ed my way through a post today, just to get it done. When commenters almost immediately ripped me to shreds, I realized you have to either go strong or don't go at all. So I immediately sat down and brainstormed a list of 10 more blog topics for days I don't have reviews to write (I always post on Mondays and Thursdays).

If you really find yourself struggling to write anything coherent, you can always link to another article, post or review and offer a few of your thoughts on that post/review/article. It's sort of a cop-out without actually copping out.

[Stacy-Deanne]

Hi Greg,

I felt like that about my book during the holidays. I just didn't want to write it. The story was going good, I wasn't having a block, I just didn't have the will to write. Then after Christmas I got my muse back and have been writing on my regular schedule since. The break helped me and I needed a boost. A lot of people feel like this during the holiday season. It knocks everyone off track.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[Stacy-Deanne]

Hi Nicola,

There's nothing wrong with taking a break. If you have loyal readers, they will return. Some bloggers will say "on hiatus until such and such time". If folks like your blog now then they will like it even if you take a little break. If you're having a block, you might need a break then you can come up with fresh material. If you have a newsletter to go with your blog, you can always send out little notes here and there during your break just to make sure the readers are aware of your return.

If you don't want to take a break, schedule some guest bloggers or some authors to do posts while you sit back. You can also shake up the content. Talk about different things. You might just need a break from talking about books. Book blogs can talk about others things like current events, movies, etc. You don't have to talk about books and do reviews only. That way you won't be bored. Do a fake question and answer segment where you write down some questions and answer them. Those are fun. Invite other reviewers to do commentary or guest reviews. A lot of review blogs I read have guest reviewers who come in when the regular blogger isn't putting up new content for a while.

There is no right or wrong answer. You gotta do what's right for you but if you're feeling burned out, it won't get better until you give yourself a rest. And like I said, you can still do that and have new material if you invite others to blog for you.

Do a survey and ask your regulars if they want to guest blog for a day. That's fun!

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

[pussreboots]

I keep myself interested in writing the reviews by randomizing the order in which I write them. I have a master list of books I've read and think I want to review. When I'm writing reviews I will go to random.org and have it pick a number for me. I find that title on my list and I can then either write the review or decide not to review it (and remove it from my list). Then when it comes to posting my reviews, I also pick randomly from my collection of pre written reviews.

[Vince Versace]

Hi Nicola,

If you have regular readers they will not go away. What I've found in the two years of having my blog is that I tend to get "blog burn out" about twice a year because I write and read so much in my daily life professionally.

What I've found helpful is taking the break as long as you need and being honest with your readers. Each time I have hit the blogging wall I've put a short post about "writer's block" and how i'm feeling about my lost blogging muse. The first two times I did that I had some of my regular readers send me encouraging and understanding emails that said to take the time off and recharge, others said that they were amazed that I did not burn out or hit the "blogging blahs" more often. Those short words of encouragement were all I needed to take my time off comfortably. When the blahs came back back, I felt way more comfortable with my decision to rest.

In the meantime while you break, consider yourself more of a "manager" of your blog, that is what I do. There have been some excellent suggestions in this thread which will help you keep fresh content up there without you necessarily having to blog. I use a guest blogger, had a guest political cartoonist for awhile too, run bullet point posts on an issue instead of writing full blown posts, post informative or poignant movie clips with a few sentences why i wanted to share it etc.

The most important thing is that you do take a rest so your blog and you will be better for it!

[Antonette]

I had that problem last summer. I read the entire Twilight series in May. Pretty much one book a week. And those aren't exactly quick reads. I was so burned out by the end of the month that I did not pick up anything to blog about until maybe August or September. I wasn't too worried about my readers. Not sure how many I have to begin with. But since I've been blogging again I have seen my stats go back up.
Sometimes you've got to go with the flow. Take a break if you need to. Have guest bloggers do reviews for you if you don't want to NOT have anything up for an extended period.

[Nicole Trist]

There is a blog I read called "Find Your Next Book Here" and she writes really inventive reviews, like she will write a love letter to the author telling him how good his book was, or if reviewing a play she will write her review in the format of a play. I imagine that reviewing that way would keep it interesting and help with the motivation..
Nicole @ Books, Books Everywhere
http://bookywooks.blogspot.com/

[melydia]

I usually find inspiration by reading other blogs and news sites. Not book reviews, but more general book discussions. For instance, a friend's series of blog posts about men and romance novels inspired me to write a post about my own feelings about the genre, which then led to another post about vampires. (Don't ask. It doesn't make sense in my head either.) Usually when I get blogger's block it's because I feel like I'm in a rut and need to branch out. (Or because I just don't have anything to say about the book I'm supposed to be reviewing.)

If you're a fan of writing prompts, I have a whole collection here: http://melydia.zoiks.org/writing/writing-prompt-websites/
If you're looking for what to read next, here are some suggestions: http://melydia.zoiks.org/2009/07/literary-crossroads/

(I'm not trying to pimp my blog here, btw - I just happen to have ready-made posts about some of this stuff, since I've faced it before too.)

Best of luck!

[Shoshana]

I totally get you. Some days or weeks, I just want to enjoy the reading without having to come up with anything to say about the book other than I like it, or I don't.

I think you can take a break, you do not want to burn yourself out. Or you could slow it down to once a week or once every two weeks review.

I know it sounds horrible, but what bailed me out was this lump I have. I got worried about it, and with all the doctor's appt, etc, it's like being on break from book blogging for 3 months. I was still reading, but I was too despondent and worried about somethign else to do anything other than read.

I did lose a lot of my regular readers, but I didn't plan to getting sick. Some will always comeback, if you let them know you're back. Although I don't know the first thing about getting my readers back.

[Valerie Russo]

I try to always blog about something unique because after a while I think readers get tired of seeing the same thing/news on all the blogs. Instead of your usual post why not try something creative like ten perfect places to read this book or 5 things this book made me hungry for or if they made the movie who would play each part... It could be anything really...

[WonderBunny]

I agree with this. It is great to see new approaches or ideas on blogs. Yes, writing has a great deal to do with it but I think I'll accept a few errors if what I read is fun and a little different then most blogs.

[Sharon (book pusher)]

Yep definitely in that boat and I have been before, I just announce that I need some down time, and come back when ready, ultimately you need to blog for you not for anyone else, but having said that, linking to articles or other blogs helps fill in the gaps and maybe adding regular photos. Good luck with it, I'm also taking a temporary break, it may only be a week a so. I do read a number of other blogs who often take temporary breaks from blogging I know when they are back and just pick reading again.