BLOGGING 101 - Write when you do have ideas

BLOGGING TIPS – Write When You do have Ideas


By Nikki Viljoen – Viljoen Consulting CC December 2011

I’m sure that by now, most of you understand that I do love to write.  Actually, if the truth be told – if I don’t write every single day, I feel as though something is missing in my life.  You know what I mean – that feeling that you have forgotten to do something, but you can’t think of what that ‘something’ is.

The fact of the matter though is that despite the huge amount of material and ideas that I have for articles and stories – sometimes I am just not in the mood to write.  Sometimes, although the idea for the article is scrumptious and delicious and absolutely perfect – I’m not, and the words just won’t flow and as I once was so inspired, so uninspired I am right now. That’s usually when I fling my arms heavenward and declare “Someone has messed with my mojo!”

When I am in this frame of mind – well there’s actually no point in actually even trying to write!  I know because I have tried before – many times and all that happens is I’ve written a load of absolute drivel, messed up a perfectly good idea, then irritated and annoyed myself beyond reason.

Conversely, there are times when I can’t seem to stop writing – when ideas flow like running water and it feels like the pen won’t keep up with my thoughts or my fingers won’t move quickly enough over the key board.  When this happens, I can produce an article every 15 to 20 minutes and I have been known to write far into the night, often forgetting to eat or drink or even go to the bathroom.

I really do love it when I am in this space because this is the time when I write articles in advance.  The articles for my column in the “Your Business Magazine” (http://bizmag.co.za) may be written for the entire year, in one sitting.  Speeches for Toastmasters, or functions where I am the guest speaker or on occasions even new workshops that I have been asked to facilitate, are written during these times and are therefore ready long before they are actually needed.

There’s nothing quite like getting to a deadline knowing that the article has been written and that there is no need for panic or haste – especially when it is one of those times when I really don’t feel like writing about anything!

So use your time of inspiration to write to your heart’s content and put the ‘writings’ into your own pantry to be used as and when you are uninspired or just not in the mood. This way you can continue to love what you do instead of becoming irritated and resentful when you are forced to do something that you really don’t feel like doing.

Nikki is an Internal Auditor and Business Administration Specialist who can be contacted on 083 702 8849 or nikki@viljoenconsulting.co.za or http://www.viljoenconsulting.co.za