Most people go into professional writing jobs because they love to write and have always dreamed of doing it for a living.
What they often don’t realize, however, is that professional writing is a lot different from personal writing, such as writing fiction or poetry or even journaling or blogging
Professional writing is done constantly, and the content is often dull or repetitive. Many professional writers stop writing their own content in their free time simply because they are burnt out on writing.
If the above describes you, you might be tempted to step away from the keyboard as soon as the work day is over and to only write what you have to in order to get paid. Don’t do this, however — remember that you have the career you’ve always dreamed of, even if your reality doesn’t match your dreams!
Also, keep in mind that it is important for you to write personal, non-work related content. This will keep your love for writing alive and well, will relax you, and will also allow you to diversify your writing samples so they show a little bit more of who you are through your work.
When you feel burnt out, don’t hide your feelings away. Acknowledge them instead so you can deal with them effectively. Ask yourself what you can do differently to feel less burnt-out.
Maybe you need to switch to content you find more interesting, or perhaps you need to take on less work. No matter what realization you arrive at, dealing with burn-out will help you to move past it and to focus on your writing, both professionally and personally.
Finding a form of personal writing that you absolutely love can change your entire outlook on writing and on life; it can also help to stave off or help you recover from burnout.
The best thing you can do is to explore and to try different styles. If you like direct interactions with your readers, consider starting a blog, or maybe try your hand at stories, poems or even a novel. Who knows? You might even get published!
Finding unique things to say, especially for bloggers, can prove difficult. It might seem like everything has been done before.
Don’t worry about what other people are doing, however. Instead focus on one simple thing — staying as far away as possible from the type of writing you do professionally.
This way, there will be no conflict of interest between your personal writing and your work writing, and you won’t be left resenting your clients for taking all the good ideas.
People tend to love blogs that detail someone’s experiences. So, what better way to blog than to go out, try something new and write about it. Maybe you want to seek out an online degree, for example.
You could easily write an entire blog about researching different schools, selecting one, and then about the challenges and joys you face as you enroll as a student.
Is there a topic you love and happen to know a lot about? Maybe you’re an expert at giving relationship advice, creating gorgeous flower arrangements or baking cakes. Perhaps fashion, Scrabble or the news is your passion.
Whatever your special skill or hobby is, you can incorporate it into your writing.
Teach others how to do what you do or just post pictures and content and watch them marvel at your brilliance — talk about a confidence boost! Plus, when you write about what comes naturally to you, it feels less like work and more like personal fulfillment.
While most of the blogging ideas we’ve mentioned so far have been on the lighter side, it’s okay to get serious too. If you have an issue that you very much care about and want to bring attention to, then feel free to use your blog as a platform to do so.
Just make sure that your content is well-researched and well-informed, because that’s one of your main responsibilities as a serious blogger.
Whether you blog, write stories or create poetry, you don’t have to go it alone! Writers thrive when they have close friends who also write and who can provide advice, guidance and just a friendly face along the way.
Join a writer’s network or guild or even a local Meet up group for writers. You can even join a virtual group or blog ring if you’re pressed for time.
Michelle is an aspiring writer who works for a university that offers online degrees. When she’s not working she loves writing about anything and everything and blogs as much as she can. She loves that blogging allows her to share her writing with an unlimited audience.
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