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How to Break Writer's Block

Beeaking Writer's Block Not sure what to write about?

Looking to write about something to inspire your Real Estate Readers? Write about a variety of things to keep your website or blog fresh. Here are some areas that you will want to write about.

Some of the best ideas come from reading other writers. Read all your local publications -- there are always great article ideas that you can generate writing about things happening in your area. Spend time reading other blogs to gather ideas. Keep a notebook with you to write down ideas down for the future.

Sites that are great to give you ideas outside of the Rain, Trulia and Zillow include:

Don't forget to follow people on Twitter and Facebook and what is interesting to them. It is amazing the ideas you can generate from watching those in your local area!

Looking for something new to write about? How about some of these ideas:

Local Businesses
Local Entertainment Ideas
Trends in Remodeling
Helpful household tips
Local Restaurants
Staging Ideas for the Home Seller
Real Estate Market Reports
Finance and Mortgage topics

Do start to write something and put it in draft mode. In my blog at any point in time you will find 20-30 posts that are in the works. I am not afraid to start and let them sit. Go back and visit them from time to time.

Ask local businesses for guest articles. They get to show off their expertise and you get an additional article in your blog that you did not have to write.

Do take a break from writing. Do something for yourself and have some fun. You will come back and be refreshed and energized.

Thank you for visiting our Buffalo Real Estate website. If you enjoyed this Best Buffalo Homes post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed to get the latest Buffalo Real Estate News from Colleen Kulikowski & the Best Buffalo Homes Team! Need help right away? Call us at (716) 650-0051 to speak with us. Search all homes for sale at www.SearchBuffaloHomes.com in the Greater Buffalo region.

Posted by Licensed Real Estate Salesperson Colleen Kulikowski on 09/25/2009 07:26 AM

Comments (71)

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71 Comments on How to Break Writer's Block

SEP

Great sources...writers' blog block happens to everyone...I use a hot shower to clear the cobwebs...it helps...! Blog on..best wishes !

Colleen - Good tips on getting started. I also keep a file of potential blog topics and continually add to it as ideas appear; then I review the list daily to see if an idea seems "ripe."

Thank you for those real estate sites. I did not have all of them.

I always have 5-10 post started, sometimes they go somewhere, sometimes they don't and occasionally I'll stumble onto a picture that really adds a lot to a post and then that post gets finished. Great ideas.

Colleen ~ thanks for sharing those wondeful writing tips. I am always at a lost for ideas to write on.

Hi everyone! Glad that I could assist.... sometimes it is the basics that make such a difference!

Didn't you do a list a year or so ago?

Someone did...these are great suggestions Colleen, we all get it from time to time.

Reading other blogs outside of here can really get the juices flowing.

Colleen, thanks for the ideas. Even though I have a Bachelor's degree in journalism, I have a hard time coming up with ideas and writing a blog.

Thanks for the motivation to make a list. of blogging topics. If you write it down, it is easier to remember the idea instead of going I had a great idea, and now what was it?!

Reading a lot is defintly part of writing. Great post. I looked at some of the sites you posted.

It is hard to come up with fresh ideas but my best thinking time is when I am driving. I always come home with an idea or two and it's usually sparked by something I have seen.

Hi Colleen. These are some very good tips.

Colleen,

A great post! If only I could figure out to write about beating you at Bejeweled Blitz!! You must have the fastest mouse around..

Thanks for the ideas and sources. Do you know if there is a post anywhere on how to get all these photos and clip art in posts? I can't find a primer!

great post...I sometimes write down a short note when I don't have time to write an entire blog but I definitely like your idea better about putting things in draft and coming back to it later...thanks for the ideas

HELLO COLLEEN! These are great tips - that I certainly needed to read today! I especially like the last one -- take a break! It always helps! Enjoy your weekend! -- Gabrielle

I come up with my blog ideas by sitting down in front of my computer and thinking about what I did yesterday. I mean, an entire 24 hours went by. Surely something happened that I can write about it. So I never run out of ideas. Because something is always going on. In fact, there are so many things to choose from that I sometimes can't make up my mind.

It doesn't matter if I write about a movie I saw, a restaurant I visited, something my cat threw up -- it's not always about real estate. I look through my lists of buyers and sellers for ideas as well. I might be driving down the freeway, thinking about something goofy, and I'll jot that thought down and write about it later.

Excellent ideas. I often pick up Realtor Magazine to see what topics others are writing about. Anything to jog that old brain.

Colleen, thanks for the tips. I think we all get writer's block at times. I too, like you, keep a note pad with me almost all the time, and when an idea comes to mind for a blog, I jot it down, and hopefully don't lose it. Also, I liked the list of sites to check out. there are so many!

Great ideas, Colleen, it is always a good idea to browse the internet to get stimulated. I find I need to get out of my real estate bubble more often!!

Missy -- Thanks and over the years here I have written a lot of stuff to help others.

Ann -- Thanks!

Beverly -- LOL!

Cassi -- reading gives your mind an opportunity to expand, many times I read something that inspires me to write a completely different type of article.

Connie -- write about the communities you pass every day.. I have one that I have been driving past for two years now and the difference it is today. Positive changes! Three coffee places opening up within 1/2 mile of each other. In this economy, so it can't be all that bad now right?

Lani -- You are very welcome

Judi -- it happened completely by accident....

Melissa -- this might be of assistance to you: http://activerain.com/blogsview/882615/16-helpful-tips-for-better-blog-formatting-structure

Bonnie & Terry -- reading outside your normal routine is of great benefit!

Rob -- Great suggestion!

Elizabeth -- also a great idea... There is always so much to write about in our daily travels...

Gabrielle -- Thanks!

Brian -- it is a great way to generate ideas, and when you get stuck to walk away many times the articles becomes stronger because you did so!

Great ideas - I tend to get writer's block and struggle to find things to blog about. I am going to bookmark this post as a reminder! Thanks!

Wow Colleen! This is helpful to so many. I love the idea of "guest blogs". I am new to this site, but I still wonder what people will find interesting and relevant. I guess it really is about "being yourself" after I read through the comments.

Thanks

Blogging on real estate, sticks and stones, trends, markets is great. But local community events, images and video of what you do for fun/recreation in your area is key too and should cure writer's block. Be a tour guide for your state, your area and be branded the local expert...the turn to guy/gal for information.

Colleen- I can't tell you how many posts I've written in my head that never made it to print. Starting bits and pieces in draft mode is a great idea. Usually the first sentence is the hardest. Once you get that right, the rest seems to flow.

Wow- you must be inside my head because it has been blocked this week! Thanks for the ideas. I've decided to try your tip of starting posts and keeping them in "Draft" mode until I can complete them.

sometimes you can get really good stuff just from everyday things you do or things that come up

Your post was very encouraging. Those are great sources to review when nothing comes to mind! Thanks for you thoughts!

Colleen,

Writer's block probably affects all of us at some point. Good ideas, though, to keep going when things look a bit dim. Inviting local businesses to provide guest articles sounds like a real winner.

Thanks for this post today....you've helped me get out of my "writers cramp" situation and move on...

Patricia

Sounds great to me. My best way to write something is to pick one of my many photos. They all have something that you can share. Take your camera with you. You will really never have a photo block. How many things do you see. Every thing from shutters, colors, gingerbread woodwork, to coal buring fireplaces

Collen,

Thanks for the advice. I believe I have more that writer's block. I have writer's lockdown! LOL! I'm new to blogging and I'm intimidated by it after reading some of the amazing blogs here on activerain. I made this my new challenge for the year, so I will keep on trudging through it. Thanks again!

Thanks for the tips .It can be difficult knowing what to blog about

Colleen, great thoughts to keep the creative juices going. Ideas can pop in your head as you go throughtout your day too.

Ok -- now that you solve writer's block.. can you tell me how to add more hours in the day so I can write more posts (lol). A great list and it will certainly get the creative juices flowing.

Having an inventory of ideas is so important some days the ideas flow and other times it is blank. I have a few drafts that only have the title and I'm waiting for the inspiration for the content.

Colleen- great stuff... a great writer must also be an avid reader... thanks for the links and list.

Great list of outside sources.... Can get lots of ideas there.. Then just the though of putting together that next great post :)

SEP

Excellent tips, I get inspiration from those sources and many others. I keep a file folder with articles and inspiration for blogs. If I get "writer's block" I can always go through the folder for ideas.

Great resources. We will check them all out and hopefully get some inspiration. Thank you.

That is so true, what to write and where to get the information. Thank you for all those great resources.

Writer's block is my true nemisis. I appreciate the tips and ideas to keep my mind open.

Don't forget Local news!! Local news is great for localism content and just talking about things going on in your own area.

Colleen, you're just the inspiration needed for today - great ideas and places to visit! So off we go today to take Barney (our Lhasa to dog days in the park) I'm sure he'll have a ball and we'll get a great blog out it!!

Colleen, thanks for the wonderful tips for getting unstuck. I especially liked Eric's tip, too, abut using photos for inspiration, and Sandy's simple one about just talking about what's going on locally.

Great tips and now I'm wondering about starting my own list to share with members of AHP Connect.

Carrying my camera with me in my purse does more to unblock me than anything. I can always find something!

Good idea about letting them set in draft mode. Most of my ideas are setting around on scraps of paper or partial list somewhere.

Wow! So many comments! Thanks everyone! In the thread of comments I have come up with two post ideas for my Best Buffalo Homes Blog that will join my list of draft posts. They both are a result of the photo Eric shared here.

Keep writing everyone! A little here a little there, it all comes together. I am an old-timer, been around since June 2006. If there is anything that I can do it is tell you we all had to start some where... For those of you newer to the Rain, here are a couple of articles that might assist you:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/44101/not-too-long-ago-

http://activerain.com/blogsview/18851/Thank-you-Barry-Hurd

http://activerain.com/blogsview/13407/first-blogs

The last of the three articles will be of interest. It was written way back in the beginning... It is the first posts of several members here at AR. It is amazing how things have changed, it was written almost three years ago... Enjoy! Remember there is only one rule to this whole thing. Have fun, be yourself.

Much success!

Colleen

Good post with many helpful ideas. When a blogging idea comes to me...I note it in my Blackberry for future use. If I have a couple of minutes I can even write a rough outline.

Colleen - thanks for this posting, I am always fighting writers block, even when I have a subject, but thanks for the hints.

Colleen,

Great ideas here! I just returned from visiting your BEAUTIFUL area! It was my first trip to Niagara Falls and Lake Erie and very awe inspiring. Hmmm. That sounds like a good idea for a blog!

Colleen, great advice. I am experiencing exactly what you mentioned. I don't know what to write about. After reading your blog and realizing you have more than one blog in the works I am anxious to try it. Thanks.

Thanks for the post! I decided to start blogging a few weeks ago, but can't seem kick it off. Thanks again for the tips!

Glad to know I'm not the only one with unfinished drafts. I got some good ideas from your article and the comments. Thanks!

Nice job with these examples Colleen on where to get good ideas for your next blog. There are times when I have a block and I will see something at another site that will spark an idea.

I just posted the other day a post that was in draft for well over 4 months. I would go work on it, then draft it and then work on it some more. Some times it takes coming back to it at a fresh look to finalize a post. Many times it is important that take the pressure off ourselves...

These are some of my favorite sources for information. Thanks for the reminder, somedays it is just hard to come up with good original material!

Thanks for helping me to find my muse!

Great ideas and good web sites. I am bookmarking this to glance at from time to time. Thanks!

SEP

Great comments and advice. Apprecite the post.

Timely post for me! Great ideas since I always found it difficult to get new blog ideas.

I am bookmarking the sites and your post too.

I keep a Blog Log with me everywher I go. That way if I have an idea I jot it down. I swear age has nothing to do with having to write it down........

When we were in the midst of of earning points for our posts I was able to knock them out regulary. It's probably been 2 weeks since I've written a post now so thank you for the help in generating some new ideas.

SEP

Wonderful ideas to keep us all inspired and moving along. Thanks!

I hate writer's block. Usually it is stress holding you back. Take a short break and RELAX. The ideas will flow

OCT

Thanks everyone for the comments! I am so glad that I could assist you!

OCT

Colleen,

Thanks for this list of ideas! I'm also glad to hear that you too start and stop on your blogs!

Kathy Opatka

Kathy -- the post ideas come, but I don't always have the time work on them at the moment the ideas come. Writing them down in draft mode gives me the opportunity to work on them when I have the time.

OCT

HI there - I am using your post as an entry in the Scavenger Hunt because it's such a great list. Thanks for posting!

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