Feeling a bit of writer’s block?
Looking for inspiration?
Let me encourage you with a few questions:
1. Why do I care about this subject?
Once you understand why you’re writing what you write, your blog will have a foundation that readers can connect with. And until you care about what you’re saying, chances are low that anyone else will. Reflect personally about why this subject matters to you before you write, and people will read!
Ultimately, get in tune with what matters to you.
2. What kind of audience do I want?
For many of you, your subject deals with current events and issues; so, first of all, ask yourself if you want to write in a way that general readers will be informed? Or, for those of you who are planning on writing on very specific and specialized topics, do you want to delve deeply into your posts with terms and references that other aficionados and experts will be impressed and provoked? However you choose to address your audience, make sure you are consistent. If you aren’t, you might turn off both the general public and experts by being either too simplistic or too complex.
Also, consider your tone as you write. You will need to write scholastically, but that doesn’t mean you have to sound too formal. There will be times when you want to spur the reader’s interest, grab attention, and reflect on the implications of what you say.
Ultimately, consider how you want to appeal to your reader.
3. How will you continue to make your content interesting?
This is one of the more difficult aspects of blogging, since it is predicated on the act of doing regular research in your field. Unless you continue to stay involved in your subject area, your posts will become more and more monotonous, thus losing your audience. What other blogs can you find that spur your own understanding and interest? What books, magazines, and scholastic journals carry information pertinent to your subject area? You might even want to write an email to someone in the field you’re writing about, to see if you might get that missing nugget of information you’ve been seeking!
Ultimately, what questions do you have that need answers?
And what lengths will you go to to find them?
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