There are times, an increasing number of times it seems, when at the end of the day, after talking, and talking, and talking some more to students, parents, administrators, husband, kids, that I have no words left. No voice to speak, no brain cells to rub together for thought, nothing to put fingers to keyboard to write or blog. You're just empty, empty, empty. Burn out, balance, call it what you will, it seems an occupational hazard for bloggers and writers. And it seems to be running rampant through the blogosphere.
Copyblogger has a great post about what you can do when you run out of content, words, knowledge. Check it out and tell me: Has this ever happened to you? Where do you get your inspiration, knowledge, words, content, ideas, whatever you call it, to write and/or blog? What do you do when they don’t come?
I know this feeling all too well. Hope it all comes right! Have a wonderful Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteLately, I've had a bad case of the empties, too. It's a busy time of year, and I'm looking forward to life slowing down to summer speed. Any day now...
ReplyDeleteHope your day feels fuller!
((hugs))
I hope that it comes back sooner rather than later! I've recently been stuck in a phase of emptiness. I've done the thousand a day writing challenge but everything I've written has been dull and boring, it wasn't until yesterday that I vented to the hubs about how I hated my current WiP my MC was making me angry and all of the sudden he was defending my story from me!!! That's when it hit me, I need a new plan, a new story, a new way to look at things and it's helped.
ReplyDeleteI went for a walk at a nearby park and cleared my head, laid everything out on the table and the ideas started flowing. I needed to vent on my frustrations and in doing so my head became clear.
My oh my I'm a complicated soul!
I watch, read, or write something. I feel like I've been learning so much lately from books on writing that I'm blogging about that. But I hear you--especially when there's a time crunch.
ReplyDeleteHasn't been a problem yet. But I'll admit that my brain turns to mush by the time I finish writing the last blog comment of the morning. And I'm sure, by that time, I'm making no sense at all.
ReplyDeleteI understand completely. My poor blog is all but abandoned and my WiP is suffering when I need to finish it most. Bleh.
ReplyDeleteI'm in a weird place where I know what is going to happen and where I'm going, and even keep my butt in the chair, but I just stare off into nothingness and can't get the words to come.
ReplyDeleteWhen I run out of words, I go to bed early and start again the next day. Sometimes I have to take a few days off, but a lot of the time a good night's sleep helps!
ReplyDeleteIt happens to most of us at one point or another. I just went through it and it wasn't pretty. I had to clean the house from top to bottom to get the juices flowing. My father wants to know why I still haven't finished putting all the dirt in the big hole in the yard, how can I tell him I'm saving that for my next block?
ReplyDeleteOh my heavens! You just gave the worst thought: what happens if I run out of things to say?!?! YIKES!
ReplyDeleteI get the ideas from everywhere, really. And gasp! I don't know what will happen when they run dry.
~JD
Sometimes my muse is kind to me, other days I want to hit him over the head with my huge oxford dictionary thesaurus. What I write on my blog are mostly issues I stumble across in my writing.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm really suck, I quite like the Writers' Digest Book of Matches for getting the creative juices flowing.
Or, like yesterday, I just post a list of things that are going on, blogwise... blogfests and contests can be useful, too.
That was supposed to say 'if i'm really stuck' (or alternatively 'if i really suck').... welcome to typosRus...
ReplyDeleteIt isn't for lack of ideas, for me it's lack of time.
ReplyDeleteBalance? Does balance live with the unicorns? Because I've never seen the mythical creature called balance. If you find it, please let me know...'cause I'm going gray over here from the stress of too much to do, and no time with which to do it.
Love,
Lola
lol - Lola cracks me up!
ReplyDeleteHon - it will come back - the words, the balance, the moment you sit back from the keyboard and sigh with the knowledge that you are doing what you love.
;o) I will be cheering a WORDY cheer just for you.
Visit My Kingdom Anytime
Sometimes sleep and restoration help open the door. Other times, as I try and keep to my blog commitment, I share information about an event, a product, something that keeps words flowing even if the content isn't particularly creative. As I once told my son when he expressed disappointment over the dinner I had cooked, "Not every meal is going to be a 10." Nor is every day in a writer's life. I wish you well.
ReplyDeleteI've been running on empty lately too. If I can't think what to write I don't. And then I feel incredibly guilty. Not much I can do about though, hey? What do you do?
ReplyDeleteWhen I feel really brain-dead, I just take a breather. And try not to feel guilty about it!
ReplyDeleteReading, walking, and sleeping are my cures for just about everything!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I've felt this A LOT lately. Especially in the 90 degree heat. I'm reduced to nothing. Just a brainless nobody over here.
ReplyDeleteI usually combat it by starting up slowly, like a computer booting up. First I make sure I breathe (and make sure it's not 90 degrees inside too, which it has been), make sure I'm hydrated, fed, rested, etc. And slowly I begin to feel human again.
Hope you feel better!
I have ideas all the time. Too many. But I was getting a little burnt out a few weeks ago so I've unplugged a ton in the past few weeks. It helps so much to not even turn on the computer!
ReplyDeleteTake some time, veg, take slow walks and just breathe!
I've been going through this for the past month, so I've taken a break from my WIP and just read. It's been so helpful getting back to that and remembering WHY I wanted to be a writer in the first place. Now I can't wait to get back to my book.
ReplyDeleteUsually when I'm not working on my w.i.p., I run out of things to blog about. I get cut-off from the insights I learn about writing. So, I use insights from what I'm reading...or what I'm listening to. Summer is a hard season for me as a writer...I tend to vacate my writing practice and do a lot of observing and living in the moments, stock up on life, then go right back to it in the autumn.
ReplyDelete