THE DREADED BLOGGING SLUMP
It’s been over four years but… I finally hit that blogging slump. I’ve been so in love with blogging that I just didn’t see it coming! I’ve been so passionate about my blog and what I do here that I just didn’t anticipate falling into a blogging slump! Sure I’ve had book slumps and ARC slumps but I just didn’t see a blogging slump happening… but as I sat in front of my computer, trying to think of a new blogging topic on and off all day, I realized it had finally hit me.
I’m still passionate about blogging but a little thing called life got in the way. Ever since the candle company really started picking up, I just haven’t had as much time to keep up with blogging as I used to. I do most of my candle work on the weekends and at nights but there’s also a lot that cuts into reading time and things to keep up with when I could be blogging. When it comes down to it, I end up doing things for my business first and then for my hobby second, naturally.
Then there’s just the matter of a slight burn out after doing this for so many years. After over four years of blogging, you learn what works for you and what doesn’t. You see so many people come up with creative ideas that you admire but don’t want to copy. It’s become a sort of vicious cycle with me as well to feel like I don’t have interesting posts and then I come up with one new thing to either hate it later or it was so time consuming that I just don’t have time to repeat it. Reviews are a staple but they take a long time to write. Top Ten Tuesday is always an option but I don’t feel like as many people are interested in stopping by as they used to for that and I feel the obligation to link and post photos but that’s so time consuming as well. Not every blog post has to be a long blog post but I’m so long-winded and at times maybe too thorough that I have a hard time coming up with a meaningful, short post.
I think it’s my own fault, in some ways. I used to have so much content (and so much time) that I would post every weekday. It was fun to come up with new posts and I couldn’t wait to share them with everyone! Now that I have much less time to write, it’s not a “chore” to come up with a blog post but I don’t have those creative writing juices flowing as much and the posts that I used to spend literal days on, I just can’t do anymore. I also got used to the post-every-weekday routine that now that I don’t have as much time, I feel like I’m totally slacking when I don’t. I know that’s silly and it’s totally me but it’s making me feel like I’m in more of a slump than I am.
So how do I get out of this blogging slump? I’m not totally sure! Maybe I’ll try to come up with some shorter yet fun blog posts. Maybe I’ll just write all the reviews that I need to catch up on and do all of those at once. Maybe I’ll try to allow myself not to post every weekday (I truly don’t need to) and keep the content fresher because it doesn’t feel as urgent and forced. New blogging ideas are always so much fun but after four years of writing posts, it does get hard to come up with new things every once in a while! Right now, the dreaded blogging slump is hitting me hard but I’m sure I’ll swing back up when I get some creative inspiration!
7 thoughts on “Discussion: Blogging Slumps”
I actually just got out of a blogging slump. I was also in a reading slump so that definitely affected things. Basically, I just took a break and waited until I got my creative juices flowing again. I just blogged for the first time in over two weeks and I am okay with that. Sometimes you just need a break and that’s okay.
Blogging slumps are hard because if you take a break you risk not having the motivation to pick it back up again and more importantly you break a routine which is difficult to get back into. But then, if you don’t take a break you risk burn out and not wanting to blog. It’s hard. I am a fan of taking a break and try and have about a weeks worth of posts in my drafts at all times. I find just relaxing and not worrying about my blog and comments or even reading other people’s blogs can be really refreshing because I can come back with new ideas. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes it does.
The way I blog has definitely changed over the course of the past year with starting a new job. I’ve found I don’t often want to “force” myself to blog at night after I’m exhausted from a long day of working/commuting, and blogging is definitely something that I don’t want to turn into a “chore.” But then that leads to having to binge-write posts on weekends! It’s hard to find a balance, but I feel like you have such an strong presence in the book blogging community that even cutting back and bit for your own well being and relaxation won’t be an issue- we’ll all still be here when you do feel like posting! 🙂
Ahhh! This sucks. I feel like I too have been in a kind of blogging slump. I haven’t been able to come up with a lot of new posts lately, just posting a few reviews and some Top Ten Tuesday type stuff. :/ I think working two jobs and then getting a puppy may be the cause of not as much time. lol I can see why your new business venture kept you busy. That is awesome by the way that it is doing so well! 😀 Good luck with breaking the slump. I am sure after a bit you will be right back.
As soon as I read the title of your post, I was like Oh well DUH, it’s because of the candles!! I’ve been seeing them everywhere, so that has to take up some serious time. It’s totally understandable that trying to do that and reading and working and living life AND blogging would be really hard to keep up all the time. But I know what you mean about the 4 years thing. It’s tough coming up with new stuff after so long. I feel like I used to always have discussion topics right in the front of my brain, but now it’s like I’ve talked about everything??? Okay, I know I haven’t but sometimes it feels like that. Good luck w/ your slump, I’m sure it’ll all come back around!!
I totalllly feel this! Sometimes I’m super creative and other times I feel like I have no ideas. The habit of posting every weekday is instilled in my brain too and it gets frustrating because I CAN’T STOP. That’s the biggest thing I need to work on.