Building A Better Blog: When the Water Runs Dry

Growing up in the county it was not uncommon for homes to utilize wells as oppose to the city waterlines.  It wasn’t like you see on old movies where we had some random stone fixture in the middle of the field with a rope and bucket attached where we went to gather water.  Our well was ran by an electric pump and contained inside a small garage-like structure.  I never really thought much about it unless the power went out. When that happened we had no water in our house meaning nothing to filter for a cold beverage, nothing to wash our hands with, nothing to wash clothes with and nothing to flush with.  It was only a temporary inconvenience that was easily resolved when the power was restored.  The idea of your main source of life running dry can be frightening in real life, but what about the figurative drying up of ideas?  For a blogger this can be sudden death.

Recently a fellow blogger shared her distress on a blogger support group forum that she had ran out of ideas:

y’all. seriously struggling to find things to write about. :-/

My heart ached for my sis as I know how horrible that must feel. Writing is my outlet, my escape and my comforter. I do this because I love it and because it is therapeutic for me. I have a passion for natural hair and I love to write so its a natural marriage.  But I also like to help others, which is why I have been writing this bloggers series in hope that I may be able to provide some sort of guidance to others.

So here is my advice for my natural hair bloggers with a case of writer’s block:

• Write about topics you see discussed on twitter, fb, or message boards.  You may feel like you are beating a dead horse or re-stating the obvious but trust me someone out there will appreciate it.
• Gift ideas.  I love DIY projects: making my own soaps, bath salts, hair moisturizers, accessories, earrings, necklaces, scarves, whatever interests you.
• Pet peeves.  Everyone likes a little Oscar the Grouch post every now and then.
• Hairstyles you love or ones you’d like to try including failed attempts.
• Reload an old post and update it with new information or expanded knowledge.
• Do a vs. battle of your favorite products
• Or a shopping challenge where if you only had $20 to spend at a store what would you buy

Just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing.  But if your well is running a little low, by all means take a break.  Don’t leave your readers hanging without content.  Ask fellow bloggers to submit content (new or old) to fill in the gap.  By all means do whatever it takes to keep your water from running dry.