Being a blogger is one of the toughest jobs as well as a challenging one. In one hand the commitment to publish a certain amount of materials every week or fortnight, and also to keep the content fresh, entertaining as well as engaging. At times this does become difficult and strenuous to maintain focus. Moreover, it does raise doubts about the process, whether enough is being done or is it the correct way of doing things to generate revenue and business success. It raises doubts about whether we are doing justice to our readers and customers as well.
The answer lies in happiness and peace of the mind. Unfortunately, too many of us bloggers, finding the solution is very challenging – “thanks” to our inner critique.
Inner critique can turn out to be a writer’s worst block. All the creative thoughts that come to your mind can remain entangled within resulting in a poor quality blog post.
Writer’s block: Finding your why’s
To banish all the negativity, you need to identify your why’s. Below are listed some of the potential reasons as to why is inner critique considered a writer worst block.
1. Prevents creative ideas to emerge
This situation is similar to holding a blank paper and finding words to ink on the same. Your mind might go blank, and you are not able to find anything substantial to begin the blog post. You may find yourself in a situation where you do not have a clue on what to write and how to start.
2. You might have ideas but can’t put through
Being in a confused state of mind means that you might be having ideas but can’t put them through. You could begin on a topic, and after penning down a paragraph, the words just fall apart. This usually results in ideas getting blurred, and you will end up a confused draft in which the essence of the blog post will be lost.
3. Have an outline but still can’t put through
In some instances, you might have prepared the outline of the blog post but still cannot proceed a step further. Your inner critique might make you a bit rigid, and despite your being admitting the fact that something is amiss in the blog post, you might not admit the same. At times the situation might turn out to be that you have proceeded ahead with the blog post and had made a mistake in the previous paragraph.
In spite of you, knowing the flaw, you might not take any remedial measures to rectify the mistake. This kind of approach can severely hamper your professional progress as a blogger and cause losses in your business.
4. Struck in the middle and cannot head forward
The inner critique can result in some serious problem. It might happen that you have written the blog post with a dedicated effort and when you are just able to add some creative inputs, the ideas just dry up. This is a conflicting situation and despite you knowing that what all needs to be added to the content, you can hit a dead end.
Such a situation is of much consequence in cases where you have to meet deadlines. With multiple assignments waiting for your attention, sticking in the middle is a worst-case scenario. Not being able to complete tasks on time can result in these getting dried up making a dent on your professional career and your investments too.
5. About to complete the assignment and caught up
The worst case scenario can be much beyond your expectations. It might happen that you have penned down about a hundred pages of an assignment and your inner critique decides to act smart. You might hit a dead end and wish to rewind the story and come up with fresh content in some part of the story.
This can spoil the essence of the write up a whole story can get weird up. The conflict that you have a writer can have a drastic effect on how the content proceeds and this can spoil the task at hand.
6. Bored with all your characters
As a writer, if working on a particular niche, you must be working with a specific set of characters. They might be figuring in your every story in one or the other form. A situation might arise where you get bored with all your characters.
Your inner critique might make you think that all the characters in your stories might need to be changed. You might think that by coming up with a new set of characters, the story might take a better turn. This can be suicidal at times, and the story can go off the track.
This, too, has a binding effect on your professional work and you will end up loosing on the work front.
7. You might end up imagining situations
The inner critique can turn lethal too. You might end up imagining situations as to how the story is going to fare up. This can be detrimental to your success as you might lose your creative instinct and end up losing a potential assignment and suffer personal and professional losses.
How to SILENCE your inner critique
Here are a few tips to silence your inner critique and increase blogging happiness in the process:
1. Focus on your strength, not weakness
Choose your niche. Write about the subject(s) that you are passionate about. Also, find the topics that you feel comfortable writing about, and can do so with a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge. This not only adds confidence in you but it also helps you to establish yourself as an expert, whose writing will be followed by readers and referred as well.
2. Make a daily routine
Routines make you successful. It really is.
Instead of making weekly targets break it down to each day. Making daily blogging will ease your load and keep you lighter. Moreover every morning you sit with a plan and titles that you are going to write about or feel like writing. This will keep you focused and energetic to write happily.
3. Invite comments
Invite people to comment on your blogs regularly. Even better, invite comments on social media.
Constructive criticism will definitely improve your quality, and that will also boost you morally, as this shows that your blog is being seriously followed. Moreover, comments and discussions will make your blog come alive with more readers who will also add up to your confidence and skills.
Of course, beware of trolls and bad-mouthers out there – don’t get tempted to buy into those. Learn how to deal with them, let them make you stronger, and carry on.
4. Invite guest bloggers
Invite people you like and respect to write as guest bloggers. The blog will turn out to be nice informative and entertaining one. It always feels good to have a blog with rich and diverse content.
Technically-speaking, this helps you build your blog’s brand, attract traffic, and – of course – reduce your writing tasks.
5. Initiate communication
Thank people for their comments. Answer to the comments and participate in discussions with an open mind. Keep yourself up to date with the latest feedbacks and comments. Not only this increases loyalty among readers and also more likes and shares, but it also helps you see things from different perspectives, which can help you in denying what your inner critique says about your blogging.
6. Use social media
Use social networks to promote your blog. Use Facebook, Twitter, and some social bookmarking sites to promote your blog. This will definitely make your blog accessible to many more readers and open to their views and comments.
Likes and shares will increase your popularity and ranking, as well as your overall happiness and self-esteem. Who doesn’t like seeing all the thumbs-ups, likes and shares? A bit of vanity doesn’t hurt, don’t you think?
7. Use audio-visuals
Using new communication styles can also make you feel better, with increased viewership and better engagement. Use podcasting, Video blogging, live streaming, and pictures effectively. Audio-visual inclusion will also give the page an attractive look.
8. Fresh look
Changing the look of your blog might also attract some more attention. This will also refresh you from looking into the same old theme day -in and day out. Try using new designs, arranging contents in subheads or titles. Also, use new plugins and widgets to give the blog a look that you like.
9. Research and personal development
Research on the net and learn new angles to the blog. Read the latest developments and get new ideas and styles to write your stuff. Also, learn about the latest trends and all, keep your readers updated about them. This will make them happy and you as well.
Not only on the technicalities, but you should also embrace continuous improvement on yourself. Focus on personal development. Attend seminars/watch webinars. Follow and learn from the mentors who inspire you. Watch what the top influencers in your niche do. Always make your own takeaways and use those to help you in perfecting your blogging craft.
10. Outsourcing
As always, when things got out of hand mentally and physically, you can always outsource your writing. If you’re lucky, you may even discover a ghostwriter who can mimic your thought process and writing style. Having a ‘body double’ can be beneficial, especially during busy times.
Takeaway
Inner critique for a writer holds utmost importance and for achieving success and being professionally successful, at times you need to silence and look beyond the inner critique, and take up situations as they come. This is the best and a viable method of being successful with the task at hand.
At times, you’ll feel tired. At least emotionally and mentally. The best thing you can do is to take time out for yourself. Listen to music, reading or a jog. A walk in the fresh air will do a lot better to make you feel happy. Then, when you’re ready, get back to the grind and hustle away.
Work hard, work smart, and play hard.
