Hello friends! It’s been a while, but I’m finally back with a discussion. Part of the reason that I haven’t written a discussion post in a while are familiar to you if you’ve read my more recent wrap ups. I’m busy with school and an internship, and blogging has become something that I struggle to find time for. But then I realized that there have definitely been times where I could have written a discussion post, but I didn’t. Which got me thinking about which factors have to align for me to produce a blog post. So today I’m here to discuss just that!
I think it’s easy to assume that if you’ve read a book, it’s easy to write a review. Or if you have an idea for a discussion, all you have to do is sit down and write it. But I’d argue that it’s not quite so simple. For me at least, inspiration plays a big key in when my blog posts get written. So if I have to review a book coming out next week, it’s great that I’ve already read the book, but I’d better hope that I figure out my feelings about the book before that review is set to go up. And when I write a discussion, I may have had the idea sitting in my draft for months, but I need a spark to actually get me to flesh out my thoughts in the form of a full length post.
If I don’t have this inspiration, it can be really hard for me to just sit down and write something. In fact, it can be downright impossible. Something that adds to this difficulty is the fact that it usually takes me a few day (for reviews) or weeks (for discussions) to fully form what I want to say. But since I’ve been so busy, my brain hasn’t necessarily had the time to do all the background processing I need it to do before I’m ready to actually sit down and write a post. And then of course I need to make time to actually write the post before I forget all the little details my brain came up with during the time that I spent processing.
So in reality there a lot of factors that need to align! There’s the initial starting point, which is reading a book for reviews, or coming up with an idea for discussions, then there’s the processing time, and then there’s the writing time. And I feel like these pieces have been very out of sync for me lately. On days I want to write, I have no discussion ideas at the ready. I’ll just sit there trying to figure out my thoughts on a topic until I get frustrated and end up not writing anything. For reviews it’s a bit different because I can usually process a bit as I’m reading, and I have a star rating as a starting point, but I have noticed that I’ve given some more concise reviews recently because I haven’t been able to fully dissect my thoughts before I needed to start writing my review.
All of this is really frustrating for me. I never want to publish a post that I don’t think is ready. I want to be proud of all my content. I want to know that I got all of my points across in my discussions. But I also really want to have a semi-consistent posting schedule. And if I don’t have the content prepared, how can I get a post out every week or so? How can I ensure that you’re not just flooded with 3 reviews in a row, instead of gently breaking them up with discussions or tags? It’s a really tricky balance to pull off, and I don’t think I’m quite managing it.
Me trying to balance my content right now
Discussions are my favorite posts to write and always will be. It used to be that I never understood what other bloggers were talking about when they referred to alack of inspiration. After all, I had loads of topics waiting to be discussed in my drafts! But now I get it. There’s the inspiration for the topic, and there’s the inspiration for the writing itself, and both can be extremely difficult to come by, especially as one gets busier.
So to all those bloggers I judged, I’m sorry. And to all those bloggers who can relate to this post, I just want to let you know that I’m hopeful that we all will find or make the time to let our inspiration in and write more fabulous posts. So if you see some shorter posts from me, or a slightly larger gap between posts, know that I’m working on wrangling my inspiration to work with me, and that I can’t wait to share all the posts I have planned when I do!
Paper Procrastinators 
I 100% feel you on this, Malka! I absolutely hate writing posts that I don’t feel inspired to, so if no inspiration strikes me, I will put of writing my next post forever… and ever … and ever – and then panic when I realize I have nothing to post when my schedule says I should 😅 Or even when I do have ideas I love, I’ll put them off because I think my writing skills will never do them justice, meaning I can just quit while I’m ahead… And then there’s the added pressure that I feel like people expect my content to be fun and creative, and if I don’t deliver, I’m letting everybody down 🙈
However, I’ve found when that happens, what really helps me is to just go do a simple tag instead 😊 I like how those already have a pregiven structure that I don’t have to come up with myself, and I still get to be creative! (And also catch up on my enormous tag backlog, lol 😁) And then I have a much easier time taking up energy for whichever post I want to write next. But I’m not going to pretend it isn’t constantly hard, and that I don’t live in terror of never having a good idea ever again – I think that happens to all of us! 😂 If it helps, though – I really love your content even when it isn’t world-changingly thoughtful or mind-blowingly original! Sometimes, it’s just nice to hear from the people you follow, even if they aren’t constantly churning out one unique post after the next! 💙 (I did absolutely love this one, though – great discussion, Malka! 😊)
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Yuuuuuup. I totally understand that feeling. I think that sometimes if I have even a smidge of inspiration, I’ll use my desire to have consistent content to push myself to write a post, but if there’s no inspiration at all there just won’t be a post!
And I feel similarly when I have a topic I’m really excited to write. Those ideas usually take months from the initial thought to when I actually write them, because I want to be sure that I’ve given enough thought to the idea that I’m not neglecting to mention any facet that I found interesting. Thankfully though, once I’m actually writing the piece, I tend to enjoy myself. It’s the planning stage that I drag out forever.
Yes! Expectations can be so paralyzing! Like, recently I’ve been writing more reviews, and have been doing some discussions in a very different tone than I’ve written previously, and it’s always so scary to post those! I’m always worried that the reaction and interaction won’t be good because I’m not doing my usual fun and creative posts! But I’m eternally grateful that so far, no matter what I’ve posted on this blog, people have been nothing but kind to me. So maybe it’s just all my own expectations that get to me!
It’s so strange because while I really enjoy doing tags, those may be the posts I have to have the most inspiration for in order to fill them out! I take tags really seriously, and always want to give good, thorough, thought out answers, so I’ll only answer one when I feel like I have good answers at the ready. When I’m not overwhelmed by school, the easiest posts for me to easily generate are discussions, since I usually have a list of them ready to be written. When I’m overwhelmed though, all bets are off and even the simplest wrap up can become really difficult to write, which explains why I’ve been so sporadic recently!
Thank you so, so much for your kind words! You cannot imagine how much I needed to hear that my content is valued even when I can’t give it all of my focus. I feel so lucky that I have such wonderful followers and friends like you that support me no matter what! Thank you again! 💕
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It’s so relieving to hear I’m not alone on this! Although for me, the planning and writing stages actually blur together a lot. I kind of figure out what I want to say while writing it, so the true enjoyment usually only starts to kick in once I’m editing! 😂 That’s the main reason absolutely love to edit!
And your approach to tags is also really interesting! I feel like I’m so behind on them at this point – seriously, I’ve got like 30 of them in my drafts folder 🙈 – that I know pretty well which questions I still have to answer and have had plenty of time to mull over them. So coming up with good answers usually isn’t a problem for me. I actually find it very impressive that you think discussions are easier to write, because finding an interesting angle and a good way to structure them always takes me forever!
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Can definitely relate to this! I am not always a super consistent poster because I’ll lack inspiration or motivation and struggle to think of ideas outside of reviews and my other regular weekly posts. The struggle is real!
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The struggle is definitely real! I think that the longer you blog the more you realize how much actual time, effort, and work goes into blogging! It’s really hard to post consistently, and I’m in awe of anyone who manages to keep a consistent schedule, knowing how hard it is for me to come up with content even on the sporadic schedule I keep!
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This post is so relatable! Inspiration is so tricky to come by sometimes and I especially relate to the separation between inspiration for an idea (often a struggle) and the inspiration for writing (often an even bigger struggle). The writing portion is most difficult for me – some days my brain just doesn’t want to send me words and it feels like wading through mud to get a comprehensible sentence out, let alone an entire blog post. My best hope on these days is to put all my thoughts (comprehensible or not) into dot points and work from there. Whether I’m busy or not, review or discussion, it’s easier for me to write posts when I figure out a structure and the specific things I want to touch on. I suppose in that sense, it’s a bit easier to write reviews (which I don’t do very often) because I can simply structure them around characters, pacing, world-building etc. And yeah – as you say, you can process thoughts on a book a bit as you’re reading it.
Great post!! 😀 😀 And I hope you have a good weekend!
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Yes! Those two kinds of inspiration are so important to separate because you really do need both in order to craft a blog post! Some days I’ll have a ton of ideas that I write down, but I still have no posts to publish because the actual writing inspiration just isn’t there. Other days I have writing inspiration, but not for any of the ideas that I have planned out already. The alignment of the two is really tricky and I find that the combination of ideas and writing ability rarely happen at the same time when I’m busy!
Dot points can be super helpful, and in fact that’s what I use in reviews many times. Once I’ve done the initial processing, I write down bullet points of what I plan on talking about, then give myself about a day to think about just those points in particular, before I sit down to write the full review. For discussions or lists, I try to break things down by topic instead, and follow a similar format where once I know the topics, I give it some more thought before seeing if I’m ready to write.
Thank you! 💕 I hope you had a wonderful weekend as well!
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I’ve never even dared to try and write a discussion post although I do enjoy responding to other people’s. I really struggle with inspiration which is partly why my blog is mainly tags and weekly memes that are quite straightforward to complete. Maybe I’ll have the spark to be a bit more creative one day. Until then, I will just carry on enjoying the posts written by you and other bloggers who have the ideas.
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I absolutely adore discussions, so my advice is to give one a try some time, just to see if you like writing them. Many times I’ve taken a response that I’ve written in a comment on a discussion and turned it into a full blog post, where I reference the original post that provided the inspiration for me. Maybe doing something like that can help you get started with discussions, if you’re interested!
Tags and memes are great! I totally understand how they can help provide some much needed structure to consistently blog. For a sporadic poster like me, having a set day to do a meme would put too much pressure on myself, so I personally don’t participate, although I do post tags occasionally.
I think that it’s important to have all kinds of bloggers though! Some bloggers thrive by just writing reviews, while others like me enjoy the discussions more. All of us are important to the blogging community, so I hope that you never get down on yourself for not partaking in the more “creative” posts!
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I like the idea of using a reply as a springboard for a discussion. I might try one at some point 😀
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I can really relate to what you said! It can be really hard to try and find inspiration, that’s why I write all my posts in advance because otherwise I would not be able to maintain a posting schedule. I also feel like whenever I do have inspiration to write a post, it’s a the worst/most inconvenient moment.
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I would love to write some posts in advance! Unfortunately I get really impatient, so chances are, if I have a post written, it will get published in the next few days! But that’s exactly why I don’t have a set posting schedule. I know that my inspiration comes and goes as it pleases, so I just try to work with the sporadic nature of my inspiration. That’s why some months there are 2-3 posts a week, while other months there may only be 3 posts published!
Honestly at this point I’d take inspiration even at inconvenient times! There have been too many weeks where I’ve wanted to have an idea or write a post and nothing has jumped out at me. But I do agree that it can be quite frustrating when you’re all ready to write a great idea down, but you just don’t have the time! If anyone ever comes up with a way to schedule times for inspiration to strike, I’d be one of the first people on line to purchase that!
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Great discussion, I can really relate to this. The inspiration for posts and the blog in general is one thing but having the motivation to actually write things is a whole other ball game
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Thank you! Yes! I have a lot of blog post ideas written down in all sorts of places, but when it comes time to sit down and write the posts themselves, it’s as if my inspiration and motivation just disappear!
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Don’t worry, I’m sure we all understand and have even been there! If you’re busy with school and an internship, it’s important for you to put most of your effort there. Work on blog posts when you can, but don’t beat yourself up over them. The important thing is to keep your blog something you enjoy doing. Keep it a source of joy rather than letting it become another burden that drains your energy.
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That’s true! It’s one of the things I love about the blogging community. Everyone is so supportive and understanding when I just can’t seem to make the time to blog!
I’m definitely doing my best to keep my blog as something I enjoy interacting with! It’s just that sometimes when I’ve been away from my blog for a while I really miss it and get sad and frustrated that I’m not posting on it more regularly! But thankfully, I know that soon I’ll have more time to focus on the hobbies that I enjoy, so I try keeping that in mind whenever school gets in the way of me posting!
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I totally feel this!! Inspiration is so important for me when it comes to writing. Sometimes I’ve got “idea inspiration” where I’ll just write down a list of loads of post ideas, and sometimes it’s “writing inspiration” where I can hash out a draft of a whole post all in one sitting.
It’s pretty unpredictable when these will get sparked so I like to make the most of it when I’m feeling in a good writing mood. Sometimes just sitting down at my desk with a cup of tea is enough to get me going, and sometimes I’ll go through weeks where I feel like I can’t write anything.
I quite often get inspired at the most inconvenient moments, so I try to scribble down my ideas quickly when I have them and usually I can pick up the thread later and feed off my earlier excitement!
Sending you all of the good inspiration vibes!! ❤️✨✨
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Yes, yes, yes! I get inspiration for ideas a lot more often then I get inspiration to write, which is why I have a list of ideas that are waiting for their turn to get written! But what’s interesting is that when I get writing inspiration, it’s usually for one specific post in particular, that I don’t get to choose. So whatever my brain decides it’s interested in writing that day is what gets written!
I find that my inspiration is quite unpredictable as well! There’s a really specific feeling I get that’s hard to describe, but when I feel it I know I should take advantage and write! Beyond that, it can be pretty tough for me to try to figure out when my inspiration will strike. I usually just need to wait for it to let me know it’s there!
When I have idea inspiration, I either write it down in a post draft or an email draft, no matter where I am! Then I usually go back and try to flesh out the idea a few days later when I have more time!
Thank you, Abi! I’m sending all the good inspiration vibes your way as well! 💕
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I can definitely relate! I’ve been blogging for such a long time that inspiration can be hard for me to find since I’ve pretty much covered all of the basic ‘book blog’ things. I think going back to basics often works well to get the inspiration going rather than stressing out over doing something different.
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Yes! There are some times where I think about writing a post on a particular topic, before realizing that I’ve already written about the subject! But it definitely can be helpful to think about the typical reading and blogging struggles that we all deal with that are easy to write about instead of trying to come up with some creative new take on a topic!
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I struggle to write book reviews that are personalized to my life, include added content, mention other reviewers, etc. I hate it when I end up creating a review that seems just milquetoast.
My discussion questions centers around books that arrived on the scene in your life at just the right moment. A review of Ordinary Grace with a discussion question
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I hear that! Book reviews are a struggle for me to write as well! I feel as though I’ve gotten a bit better at writing all kinds of blog posts over time, but even so, book reviews can still be tough to make unique!
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Lately I’ve been lacking inspiration for my blogging as well, especially when it comes to discussion posts. It’s quite a quandary. I used to write tons of discussions and always feel like I had something new to say. Now I’m lucky if I get a post up between my Sunday Posts. I’m hoping that changes, but I’ve come to terms with it for now.
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Yes! I’ve been mulling over different discussion ideas for DAYS now! I’m on vacation, so I have the time to write something, but I just can’t seem to find the inspiration for a topic! I’m really hoping something changes soon, because I really miss writing them! But like you, I’ve also come to terms with the fact that if it doesn’t happen, I just can’t force it.
Here’s to hoping that we both find our inspiration in these next few weeks!
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YEP YEP this is me, this post could have been written by me too, because I feel it so much. It’s like- I have no inspiration, and on the off chance I DO, I have no time and/or mental capacity left! One thing I do differ with is that I am a million percent fine with posting something immediately after it has been heaved out of my fingertips. There is no proof-reading, there is just word-vomit, hit publish. I genuinely think that is the only way I have posted ANYTHING in at least 4 years 😂 Great post, and know you are definitely not alone!
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Honestly, it’s kinda terrible how much burnout everyone has been feeling, and I sorta hate how relatable this post has been because of how intensely frustrating that lack of inspiration can be.
Hmmmm, it’s interesting because I think I’ve recently become more comfortable posting immediately after I write something instead of waiting a bit. I still proofread and whatnot, but I think since my content feels so sparse, the second I have something ready I want to post new content. So really, that change is tied in to my lack on inspiration as well!
Thank you! 💕
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Oh this is such a relatable post, I love it. I have so many ideas in my drafts and so many discussions I’d love to share, but… they’re all waiting for inspiration to hit, for the right time, for my brain to actually have the space, time and not to be too tired to actually get down to it and write these ideas and make something… readable 😂 I feel like I’ve been really uninspired lately for these kind of posts, when before I used to do a LOT of them.
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Yes! Like, it doesn’t matter that I have some ideas, because I don’t actually want to write about those ideas right now! I’m glad to know that I’m not alone, although I hope that the both of us get back our inspiration soon!
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