One of the hardest things about blogging is being able to find new ideas. When we start blogging, we’re filled with inspiration, books we want to scream about, opinions we want to share even if we might be scared to, and so on. As days, weeks, months come by… we get tired and sometimes, inspiration fades away.
Every now and then, I personally struggle to find new ideas. I feel like, in over three and a half years of blogging, I talked about every single thing I could. Or other people already did and I just have nothing new to bring to the table. The little spark of blogging, the inspiration always flowing whenever I sit in front of my laptop to type down a new blog post, is gone, and I end up staring at a blank page for an hour while silently screaming at myself, WHY THE HELL CAN’T YOU JUST HAVE AN IDEA?!
Seriously. That’s me, more times than I dare to admit it.
Yet, I am hoping that I am not the only one in that situation and today, I thought I’d share a couple tips and tricks that help me find that little inspiration spark once again. Here’s to hoping these could help you.
Read blogs. One, two, ten, a thousand blogs.
One of my biggest source of inspiration to blog, is the amazing community of book bloggers here. I’m a massive blog reader and probably spend ten hours reading blogs per week, because I have no life and I’m completely insane, but that’s not the point. Bloggers are such an incredible source of inspiration.
Sometimes, I will read a blog post and find one sentence in it that sparks an idea for another discussion post, or a recommendation posts, for instance. Other bloggers are so inspiring. So read book blogs, be inspired by others’ talents and keep your eyes open for that little idea that might come.
Please note that I am talking here about inspiration, not plagiarism in any way. I’m not going to rant about that, instead I’ll link to Cait @ Paper Fury’s brilliant post about inspiration vs. copying.
Use book tags, awards, other kind of tags. Do them, be inspired by them.
There are even more book tags than there are bloggers. Okay, just kidding, there might be more bloggers than tags, but still, there are tons of them. What is a book tag, you ask? More often than not, tags ask you questions that you have to answer. They’re fun, they’re quick to do (that’s actually a lie. A book tag takes me way more time than a discussion post…oops) and they are very fun. Also people are usually curious about book tags.
What the heck do you do with tags, awards and how do they inspire you?! Well… first of all, you can just DO them. They’re fun, really. Second of all… you know, book tags are filled with questions YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF. They’re sort of like a test. What if one question, in one book tag, inspires you to start a discussion on one topic? To talk about one book a bit more?
💡 If you’re looking to brainstorm ideas, Canva (my favorite platform, like, ever) has a fantastic new tool, Canva Docs, where you can easily, from a simple prompt, or snippet of an idea, get a thousand, a billion new blog post ideas, generate outlines for your blog posts, catchy titles and more. Super useful and easy to use, I highly recommend it!
Think about books.
Hello, my name is Marie, I am a book blogger and I think about books about 98% of the time. That one seems obvious, but really… when you’re out of ideas, do you REALLY think about books? Because you should.
Take a trip to your goodreads shelves (and add a thousand books you didn’t need on your TBR at the same time). Find books you want to talk about, that book you thought you forgot, that book you actually really forgot. Take a look at your bookshelves, take a look at your bookstores, libraries, touch spines, smell books, think about words and hyped books and books you hated and let the inspiration come.
Keep track of your ideas.
Worst thing I do is that I get an idea, then I do not write it down. It’s gone forever now and I kind of hate myself.
Now, I write everything down. I have ideas scattered on my phone, in a word document, in a draft blog post, right next to my post schedule. I have glimpse of ideas I got everywhere now and… when I’m feeling a bit uninspired, I got this little small library in the hopes that, somewhere there, I’ll find THE idea that inspires me today.
Switch things up on your blog.
One of the best things you might do to spark your inspiration is to change some things here and there. I changed my blog logo and rating system a couple days ago and, even if no one noticed, it made me inspired to write reviews. That’s strange, but I’ll take it okay.
Bored of your reviews? Write them shorter, longer, add images, do something with GIFs, aesthetics, use three words, etc. Bored of your discussion posts? Change the formatting, try to talk about different topics than books. Bored of everything? Change one thing here or there. Your blog’s menu. Your blog’s header. Your blog’s entire design. Every little or big thing might make you inspired to blog again and, who knows, might give you an idea to talk about changes. On your blog. For instance.
Scroll aimelessly down twitter. Forever.
An idea might come, or you might suddenly lose ten years of your life without knowing it. Forget about that, it’s a bad idea.
Read your old blog posts.
No matter how cringy that seems and sounds… DO IT. It’s a brilliant idea, I swear. You might hate yourself for a little while, you might think, who the hell let me post that stupid thing… but you also might get inspired again. To revamp a blog post you did that you liked before, but can do better now. To talk about some favorites again, because you’ve grown since then. There is so many inspiration in the old you, take it back!
Ask your sister, brother, mom, dad, distant cousin, grandma, friend, pet, plush for an idea.
If you scream loud enough they will get sick of you and give you anything you can work with. Okay, kidding, but honestly. Even your mom screaming at you “why the heck are you always blogging” can make you want to write a discussion post about why the heck you’re obsessed with it. Why not?
TAKE A DAMN BREAK.
Yes hello, this is me again and I’m giving some advice I don’t follow too often. But I will. Also, taking breaks is one of the best things you can do if you’ve been feeling uninspired for a little while. Try to forget about blogging. Immerse yourself into books without thinking about reviews. Get outside. Do something else, something different. Then, after a while, take a look back at your blog, feel the love for it flowing again and the inspiration to blog might come back, too.
How do you keep yourself inspired to blog ? What inspires you?
Do you sometimes read your old blog posts, or are you too afraid to do so? Do you have other tips and tricks to share? I’d love to know!
This is so helpful! My biggest source of motivation and inspiration to blog is definitely by reading other bloggers. I also find that watching BookTube videos is really helpful with sparking new ideas, or following people who are on multiple platforms and doing something really creative with their online presence. To add on to your point about change, I would say: don’t be afraid to change! So many people stick with a theme or a “brand” that they are unhappy with simply because they feel they have to or they’re too scared to take a leap. Don’t be. It will all be okay! I changed things up on my blog without apologizing for it, and I’m already feeling more inspired and coming up with more ideas.
Oh that’s so good to know! I’m not a big booktuber fan (I rarely watch booktube, actually), but I bet they could be great sources of inspiration as well 🙂
I completely agree with you here: change can be so scary at times, even little things, but… they can really make a difference and help you keep that little blogging spark alive, so we should embrace it 😀 I am so glad this has worked out well for you 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Nadya! <3 <3
After nearly 5 years of book blogging, it has become very difficult to come up with new ideas. I’ll start writing something, and then get déjà vu and realize that I’ve written something very similar before. I’m always scared that I’ll completely run out of ideas.
I 200% get this. I’ve “only” been blogging for three years and a half, but some days, I really feel like I have done it all already. I’m sure there are brilliant ideas awaiting, or old ideas to revamp, too. I’m sure we can’t possibly run out of ideas, there are SO many books to talk about after all 🙂 and when inspiration fails us, it’s always good to take a little step back, too! <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3
All of your trips are great but I would add Pinterest as a source of inspiration. There are so many things and ideas that you could find on Pinterest but you just have to be careful to not spend too much time there lol.
Ohhh yes, Pinterest is SUCH a great idea as well. The kind of great idea you end up watching for hours instead of writing blog posts, but… a great idea indeed hahaha 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and for your sweet comment! 😀
I also get a lot of inspiration from other blogs! I mainly post Reviews but like to spice it up with different kind of posts too! 🙂
I’m so glad to hear it 😀 And spicing things up is always great and keeps us inspired for sure 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
I like to add new things to my blog every now and then to keep it fresh. I do feel like I have some ideas that are original, but I do try to keep some features the same for consistency. I’ve been blogging for 5 years now and I feel like I haven’t lost the love of blogging.
I’m so, so happy to hear that – it makes me so hopeful that, in a couple years, I’ll still have that blogging love and inspiration just like you 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
Courage to our self is the most important and always think positive 🙂
Exactly 🙂 Thank you so much for your sweet comment! 🙂
Welcome 🙂 hope so it can help 🙂
Well Marie I get my ideas blog hopping but also while walking or under the shower! I guess my body is relaxed and my brain is free to roll and dream. If I have an idea while walking I open the note app on my phone and write it. I’ve writtent sometimes whole posts while walking LOL
Ahah that’s amazing! Long walks and showers are some of the best places to get ideas haha, happens to me too 🙂 but… writing entire posts while walking? Now I admire that SO much!
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
This is just so timely! Thank you for this helpful piece…Just what I need now.
Aww this makes me so happy to hear, thank you so much! 🙂
Reblogged this on What We Want (www) and commented:
When you sense your idea bank running dry or the thought of creative penmanship largely overwhelming, here’s a great pick-me-up I’d recommend.
I’ll be keeping these tricks in mind for whenever I need some inspiration ?
Yay I’m so glad to hear that this could be useful 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
I’m currently in a blogging slump myself. I find myself drifting slowly away from blogging altogether simply because I have nothing new to bring to the blogosphere. Thanks so much for this post! It’s inspired me to keep going and look for inspiration where I normally wouldn’t!
Oh I’m so, so happy to hear that this could inspire you <3 I completely get that, blogging slumps happen and can be the worst things, but inspiration can be found back everywhere, reading blogs, wandering into bookshops and so on. I hope you'll find new inspiration soon 🙂
Thank you so much! <3 <3
Well now that you mentioned it, I did think something was slightly different in your header haha I just couldn’t put my finger on what. We all need change sometimes in our lives and I am sure people will feel inspired by this post. I am heading towards my 5th blogging anniversary in a couple weeks and I am definitely running out of ideas quite often. It’s just really been a long time doing the same thing and I feel weird posting about something I had talked about in the past, even if that’s a post no one actually read haha
Anyway … do you spend more time reading other blogs or working on your own one? I am curious 😛
Hahaha, I didn’t change a whole lot of things, I just… I found these little logos and liked them much better. I also casually changed my rating system hahaha. Little by little, one day you’ll wake up and everything will be different haha. Okay, probably not. 😛
5 YEARS. I admire that SO much…. and I can’t wait for the celebration, will you do something special? I love long ramblings about blogging experiences and such hahahaha. I 200% get that, I feel weird at times thinking about writing something I talked about back in 2014, when one person, okay two, me and my sister, read the blog posts hahaha. But I don’t think we should be afraid to revisit these ideas, I mean… we might have different opinions and a difference audience to chat with now, too 😀
To be completely honest, I spend WAY more time reading other blogs, like maybe twice the time I spend working on my blog……. I don’t know if that’s strange now that I think about it hahaha.
Thank you, Kat!! <3 <3
Little change is good, too much change is always scary in my humble opinion hahaha
I haven’t really thought about it. I wanted to do a giveaway of my favourite books, but … TBD currently doesn’t take my credit card or the one of my mum even though our cards are fine and I don’t want to do it via Amazon, soooo … that project is still in the making, I suppose? I definitely want to do some kind of celebration post though. 5 years is A LOT.
Hahaha, not gonna lie, I am not sure it’s a good thing to spend double as much time on other blogs? Not that your content is suffering or anything like that, but I get why you are stressed now. That is just too much work!
I’m with you on that one haha, I’m always scared to change everything all at once. Little by little is GREAT 😛
Oh no that’s too bad :/ Did you ever try Wordery? I never tried this website, but it also has international shipping. Or you could just do something more personal, a book from your collection if you want to give one or something like that 🙂
5 YEARS IS A LOT AND I AM SO PROUD.
I know. I need to slow down. I will. I’m trying a little bit ahah 🙂 <3
I heard some horror stories about books needing two months to get shipped from wordery. So, I am not sure I want to go with that either. And … I cannot part with my own books haha
Really??? Wow I had no idea. I won’t order from them anytime soon then ….
Haha I get it, I couldn’t part with my own books either haha.
Maybe those were just specific cases, but I am not willing to try it for myself.
And in addition to not wanting to part with them, shipping costs have increased even more and therefore are sometimes even higher than plain buying a new book.
Oh no really?? I hate it when shipping costs more than the book itself. That’s why I love book depository so much haha 🙂
I love this post!! (And I love all the GIFs, I’m a big fan of GIfs)
To read other blogs inspire me to write, as also travel or visit something, maybe just the bookstore near my home. I need to write my ideas because one…two…three and puff, they are gone forever.
Aww thank you, so happy you enjoyed this! 😀
I’m with you, I need to write down everything, otherwise it’s gone haha, and I hate when that happens! 🙂
This is actually my issue lol I’ve only been on the blogging scene for almost half a year but I was never good at even doing the tags. I seem to not be very opinionated about a lot of things which ends up making me not have any ideas, especially the discussion type posts. I’m so jealous of everybody ??
Oh no, don’t be! I am sure you will find the things that work out well for you! There are so many different types of bookish tags, there are also blog posts where you just share random facts about yourself, or your reading and bookish habits, that are always so interesting to read. There are so many things you could talk about, really – no need to think very far, just think about your reading taste, the books you like, the books you hate, etc. Discussion topics can be pretty simple 🙂
I hope you’ll find inspiration! <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
I hope so too! I’ll keep on reading posts and hopefully it will inspire me ?
I hope so! 🙂
Love this post, Marie! Thinking up post ideas is honestly the biggest blogging struggle for me.?Coming up with original, non-repetitive content is just…wow, I have trouble with it. I loved your tips! I think the one I use most is looking back at my old posts and using them as inspiration for new ones.
Oh thank you so, so much Olivia <3 <3 I get it, sometimes it's so hard to find ideas. I hope that these tips might help you a little bit! <3 <3
Oh my goodness, when I read this:
“I’m a massive blog reader and probably spend ten hours reading blogs per week, because I have no life and I’m completely insane, but that’s not the point.”
I couldn’t stop laughing! ? I absolutely LOVE your writing style + voice! Anyways, this was such a great post — I’ve only recently gotten into participating in tags myself, and it’s really fun! Tags are a way for me to still come up with original things to write about, but with the help of q & a prompts and the inspiration of other book bloggers. When I first started book blogging, for about the first 7 months, I didn’t read many other blogs… but when I did start following other book blogs, I found endless post ideas just constantly streaming through my mind. I usually carry a little notebook around with me to jot down any blog ideas I might have, even though I can’t do that at school while in PE or taking a test, so oh well. ? It’s the worst when you forget a blog idea that you knew was amazing!
Anyways, great post, Marie! I enjoyed reading your tips!
Awww Zoie, thank you so, SO much, this means the world to me that you enjoy my writing <3 <3
I think that other bloggers are such a huge source of inspiration, there are so many different bloggers out there we can learn from and I love that so much. And YES for the notebook, I need to write down everything, otherwise…. I forget everything haha 🙂
Thank you so, so much! <3 <3
I love this post so much! As someone who’s recently had to take a rather long hiatus from blogging for a myriad of reasons, this post by itself has helped motivate me to blog again! I think I thought of a few different discussions already ? It always works best for me to read new blog posts to get inspired. ❤️
Oh I’m so, so happy to hear it! <3 I hope that these tips will help and that you'll be filled with new inspiration and motivation to blog 😀 Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
I completely agree with this! Sometimes I run out of ideas or I just tell myself no one will want to read them because it’s already been talked about so much. That’s when I like to blog deep dive and come up with new prompts for my posts! I like to read a post, and then see what WordPress recommends me on the desktop app. It’s a super great thing to do! Not only do I come up with a new idea for a blog post, but I also share the blogging love to other bloggers! This was a lovely post, as always! ?
Oh that’s such a good idea – I never used the WordPress recommendations, maybe I should try it out haha 🙂 I tend to hop from one blog to another. There are so many great bloggers out there and I love spreading the love, too, it’s the best 🙂
Thank you so much!! 🙂 <3
Loool I love your ideas. I’ve found that all of them have worked for me at some point when my brain has dried. Changing things up on the blog, and also going out there and filling myself with info from around the blogosphere are specially helpful.
There’s just something so inspirational about changing the blog even a little bit. It feels like a fresh start anyway, and you’re excited to play with this ‘new shiny toy’ that is your improved blog XD.
I was brain dry all the past week, knowing that I had to write something for the blog for this one. Now I’m in the process of writing one blog post thanks to your lovely post. Will definitely keep this one for future reference!
OH YES that’s exactly it hahaha, there’s something so motivating about having a whole new blog, or just new graphics, layouts or something, it’s so motivating and suddenly makes us want to create more and more haha 🙂
Oh wow, this makes me so happy! I hope you’ll keep on being inspired, Pam <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
This is such a wonderful and helpful post, Marie! <3
I love the tip of simply thinking about books – especially ones you feel strongly about, be it in a positive or negative way, because I feel like they're an endless source of inspiration.
I'm definitely bookmarking this so I can take a look at it when the time comes … which hopefully won't be too soon, seeing as my blog is barely three weeks old. ?
Aw thank you so, so much Lily, so happy you enjoyed it! <3
Agree, books are such a great inspiration, there is so much to talk about <3 I hope you'll keep on being inspired for a long, long time and hopefully will never need tips haha 🙂 but thank you, that means SO much! <3 <3
Great tips! I have learned to jot down any ideas I have if I don’t have the time to actually sit down and write the post. However, sometimes when I go back and look at the list, I just don’t feel the inspiration to write about that topic. That is the most frustrating thing for me. So, I have this list of ideas, but still lack the inspiration. Haha – go me!
OH that’s an issue I have as well…. I always have tons of ideas written down, but sometimes, none of them inspire me. It’s the WORST feeling haha. That’s when book tags, or just an hour blog-hopping, are useful to give me some inspiration again 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
These are great tips! I’m pretty bad at coming up with new ideas but the whole book blogging community is definitely a great place to find new ideas and get inspiration. I love reading my old posts even if they make me cringe. Book Tags are pretty fun! I love doing those and I’ve observed they bring a lot of traffic.
Aw thank you, so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 I have to say, book tags are really fun to do, I agree. I love just how much inspiration we can find everywhere in the community 🙂
thank you so much!! <3 <3
OMG I am dying to have any kind of idea for my blog right now. I’ve had this blog for a while now but sometimes I just can’t seem to come up with anything so it’s kinda dying. Thank You!!
OH I’m so glad if this could be useful! I hope you’ll have inspiration and fun blogging! 😀
Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂
This was so inspirational My problem has never been ideas but it is definitely motivation – I think a lot of these ideas would help with that too!
Aww I’m glad if this could be useful <3 I hope you'll find motivation again – I find that, for that, some time away or a little change on my blog alway helps 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3
These are some really helpful tips that you have given! <3
Aw thank you, so glad it could be useful! 😀
OH, loving post my dear ! all amazing tips (specially the screaming one.. ahaha)
but hold up- I’m actually the opposite xD I started on a flink of mind and.. didn’t knew what I was doing. Now ? I might or might not gotten an anxiety attack yesterday … and an idea just, splinged !! So I wrote it xd
ideas just come to me either at work, almost sleeping, or just out of nowhere – which im so not complaining !
Hahahahaha well… it’s pretty amazing that you get your ideas out of nowhere?! I don’t know how you do that, but… keep doing it haha. Inspiration can come everywhere, at any time 😛
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
Thank you for this post! I am always struggling to come up with creative, fresh ideas for blog posts! This was very helpful 🙂
OH you’re so welcome, I hope this will help! 😀
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
Such a fantastic post! You gave some really great advice that I will definitely remember when I’m trying to think of new post ideas! <3
OH thank you so much, Kelly! I hope this will be useful to you! 😀 <3
Such great ideas, Marie! Honestly, asking pets for ideas is perfect. Puppies always have new thoughts. And they want to help so much?!?!
I write ALL my ideas down. I have little scraps of paper full of ideas, and so many notes on my phone. Why is reread old post so painfully cringey???
I don’t have a puppy at home to help me, but THEY SEEM SO HELPFUL and I want one just for that okay, also they look adorable. They’re the best blogging sidekicks, I am SURE of it. 😛
I’m glad I’m not the only one writing everything, everywhere haha. I just need to remember everything, we never know where our next genius idea will be 😛
I wish re-reading old posts wasn’t so hard, sometimes I wonder if it’s me, or someone else that wrote them haha 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
yes every blogger needs this post!!! I’ve been struggling with post ideas too. this will be helpful. thank you!! 🙂
Ahhh I’m so glad to hear it!! Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
fabulous post!!! (also one I really needed b/c I’m currently drained of ideas and have all the creativity of a fishstick, oops.)
I’m a big fan of revamping/constantly switching things up on my blog. unfortunately, I have the attention span of a butterfly so I need things to be different or else I get bored with myself. :”) I really dislike reading super old blog posts because I sound so cringe-worthy (like, fetus me was… so embarrassing) but I definitely think rewriting old discussion posts/reviews is a great idea.
and oooh yes taking a break is so so important. (I probably take too many breaks if I’m being completely honest with myself??) especially if you’re feeling burnt out from blogging, it’s probably best to step away from the blogosphere and focus on school/work. <3
Oh I’m with you about old blog posts, I always feel weird re-reading it, but sometimes… well, they really help me, inspire me to do better as well and there are so many ideas I had before that I didn’t fully went through with before, as well 🙂
And yes yes yeeeeees changing things up is GREAT every once in a while, I love to do it, even if I am so, so nervous every single time I do haha 🙂
I’m with you, and there’s no such thing as too many breaks. As long as you take care of yourself, that’s what matters <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
i feel like covering my eyes whenever i go back to old blog posts. sometimes i don’t even know what i was doing, HAHA :’)
that’s a relief to hear!! breaks are so so important after all and i feel like spending too much time worrying over my blog isn’t great for my mental health. <3
If that makes you feel better: we don’t really know what we’re doing, even now sometimes I’m a mess hahahaha.
Agree, it’s so important to take care of yourself before anything else <3
Great article, thanks for the advice
Oh you’re welcome, thank you for your sweet comment! 🙂
What an awesome post!! 🙂 Twitter is a great source of ideas!
Agree – we just need… not to get lost in it for too long haha 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
This is an amazing post, my blog is so boring, I couldn’t think a single one of discussion post, I rarely have time to read so no review, I keep doing weekly challenges and tags but I know people will see my post boring! I have one or two ideas about discussion post but my english sucks and I don’t know how to express the idea into a writing, I’m so sad!
WHAAAT. Your blog is NOT boring, YOU are the one writing it and it’s UNIQUE because of that 🙂 Also, if you have ideas, that’s a start! If you’re not feeling comfortable writing long paragraphs, why don’t you try out shorter discussion posts? They don’t need to be long, you can write bullet points and share your thoughts that way, too 😀 <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
Aww thank you so much for the tips, Maybe I’m going to try bullet points and see how it turns out. Thank you so much!!!
Oh you’re so welcome, I hope this helps! Let me know how it goes, you can do this, sure it will turn out GREAT 😀
Thank you so much Marie, for your kind words and support!
Always! <3 <3
I love this post. I am just starting to blog and this is very helpful. The comments were just as great. I love the GIFs and knowing that I don’t have to stick to just one idea or format. Thank you for writing this.
Oh I’m so glad thi could be helpful! 🙂 Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
I’ve been struggling with this recently because I’ve been reading so little this year (which is really sad) so I never really had anything to talk about, but I recently redid the formatting and theme of my blog which has given me some more inspiration and have expanded the topics I write about and suddenly I have millions of ideas!
Oh I’m so glad your blog changes helped you find some new inspiration – sometimes that really helps 🙂 I hope you’ll have tons of ideas next and will find your blogging motivation again 😀
thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
Thank you and you’re welcome!
I’ve definitely felt uninspired about blogging recently. It can be difficult to find posts that make me excited to write! I do agree that reading other blogs can really help me be more creative.
OH I’m so sorry to hear that :/ I hope that these tips might help you and that you’ll feel inspired again soon, Anna! <3 <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
You’re doing a way better way of job of blogging than I am! I’ve been blogging for a year and a half, and I already sometimes run out of ideas. Sometimes I can’t find the inspiration to blog. I have taken a break last thursday, and I feel less pressured to write. It’s okay to take a break. The person who’s going to take it the hardest is yourself. Great post Marie! You gave amazing tips xx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
Oh what, you’re kidding, you are doing an INCREDIBLE job, Melina, your blog is amazing and so are you <3
I also run out of ideas sometimes, I feel like we all need to take little breaks every once in a while, for our creative juices to come back haha 🙂
Thank you so, so much! <3 <3
This is a brilliant post Marie, and I definitely get what you mean because after nearly three years I feel like I’m running out of ideas every so often. Sometimes I struggle with coming up with new discussion topics because I wonder how much there is to talk about in terms of books. Not writing things down is one of my biggest faults, although that seems to be mainly when it comes to my WIP rather than my blog. 😀
These are some good tips though, I will definitely keep this post in mind the next time I need to find new ideas and inspiration for my posts. 🙂
Great post. 😀 <3
Hahaha I get the struggle – I have the same problem with my WIP. Now I just try and remember to write everything down, I know otherwise that I will regret it 😛
Thank you so, so much, Beth!! <3 <3
The last tip is one I do fairly often, because I’m usually desperate. xD I do have a handful of friends who know I blog about books, and sometimes I ask them what they’d be interested in seeing. They usually give really cheesy ideas that other people have already done 5 bajillion times before. BUT!!! Sometimes I get ideas FROM their ideas, which is just lovely. Not 100% original, but I guess almost nothing really is 100% original, yes?
Thanks for another lovely & super helpful post, Marie! ♥
– Aimee @ Aimee, Always
Ohhh that’s so amazing that you have people to turn to for inspiration – honestly that’s the best and I bet they have fantastic ideas – or at least, ideas that just give you other ideas you can use haha 😀
I’m with you, nothing really is 100% original haha 🙂 still, whatever we put out there is a little original, since it’s with our voice that we talk about it and we are all unique 🙂
Thank you so, so much Aimee! <3 <3
This is a great post with excellent tips! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Aww thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
WHY AM I ALWAYS SO EFFING LATE TO YOUR BLOG. by the time I arrive, there are about 1000 comments here and I’m just like “Hi. I exist! But beside the point, I think this was a pretty neat post! I love Cait’s post about inspiration vs plagiarism which I think was fantastic. I definitely get my inspiration from other bloggers. Sometimes while I’m commenting I kinda ramble into another separate discussion and THAT always gets me thinking. old blog posts are such a good idea,, I MEAN CRINGE, but like also INSPIRATION AND LIGHT BULBS!! Plus we can all get away with basically reposting an old post WILL ANYONE REALISE??!! no.
Aww you’re NEVER too late, you’re the sweetetst don’t worry about that, THANK YOU for being here and leaving such a sweet comment, this means the world! <3 <3 <3
OHhhh same, sometimes I comment on a blog post and, while I type my comment, I randomly get an idea for a discussion about it all haha, I love it when that happens.
And…. I never thought of that – I would feel too bad reposting an old post hahaha but…. I don't think anyone would realize?? Haha maybe someday we need to try it out hahaha.
Thank you so much for your sweet comment!! <3
Hi Marie <3
I'm so glad that you wrote a post about this topic! I'm glad that I'm not the only one who have trouble finding things to blog about! *phew*
I love the ideas that you shared here. Bloggers and blog posts are definitely a source of inspiration for me. Sometimes when I read a post or have a discussion with a blogger, I realize that I have a different take on a topic that I can ramble on about for a while haha. I am SO guilty of forgetting my blog ideas- it is a great idea to have a consistent place to write them down!
That is an interesting tip about rereading past blog posts! To be honest I am a bit terrified of reading my old posts and discovering that they are terrible haha. But you are right that they might be a source of inspiration as well.
Great post! 🙂
Oh you’re not the only one at all ahah, I think we all struggle every now and then, we can’t be inspired all the time (unfortunately). I feel like I need to write down everything, I really don’t want to forget ANYTHING haha, when I forget to write down one idea, I usually regret it afterwards haha 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment, Sophie! 🙂 <3
I should probably get into the habit of writing things down haha 🙂 Sounds like that’s probably the best way to keep track!
It is a great way to keep track for sure! 🙂
this advice is all A plus! I really need to spend some time rereading old posts for inspirtation. At the moment I have wuit a few ides jut not really the time to carry all of them out. I only have 10 more days of uni though and then I am going to go WILD with posting…hopefully.
Ohhhhh well that’s good news, holidays and some time to yourself to read, blog, relax and everything! SO SOON, YOU CAN DO THIS SHANTI <3 I can't wait to read all of your ideas 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3 <3
Lots of great ideas here! I am always struggling with inspirational ideas. I think that it sometimes comes down to a time constraint for me and the fact that I would rather just read. I will have to bookmark this for when I am in need of a little inspiration. 🙂
Oh thank you! I’m with you, finding ideas take a whole lot of time too haha and we’d rather be reading 😛
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
Loved this post! And oh, I noticed your blog logo and rating system changes by the second I landed here 😀 And you have also created Grab My BUtton 😀 Well, I know your blog well enough now to see those changes 😛
My biggest inspiration for blog posts or particularly the discussion posts is reading other blogs or surfing Pinterest. Pinterest is really a good source I feel. And while I am writing this, I am thinking that I haven’t written my tomorrow’s post yet 🙁 I think I too want to go on a little break! Life is going to be damn busy next two months. But let’s see. 😀
Awww you’re so sweet noticing haha, this means a lot! <3 <3 I hope you like the changes haha 🙂
I never really tried Pinterest, but maybe I should try to go there for inspiration too, it seems filled with great ideas 😀
And take your time with everything, Sim – it's always good to take a step back every once in a while 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment <3 <3
Hahaha yes to all of this! It’s honestly not a surprise that I take one look at your post (or more accurately, one read) and I’m just inspired and motivated to continue blogging.
I totally agree about changing things on your blog. And I don’t know why either? Like changing my layout or even one little thing (like your rating system!) just helps. And then I want to post about all the things.
This is such a great post Marie!
Awwwww this makes me so, SO happy Val <3 I'm so glad this could inspire you a little bit and yes, changing even just one tiny thing sometime helps LOADS 😀
Thank you so much! <3 <3
I haven’t been very into blogging lately, mostly because I’ve been SO DARN BUSY this semester with a hundred new things that blogging went to the wayside. Now it’s exam season so I actually have time but I’m still taking an indeterminate break, meaning I post when I want and don’t when I don’t want to/can’t. I’m actually sitting down to blog now, so let’s hope it goes well!
I honestly think that posting whenever you feel like it is the best way to blog as well. When you’re not feeling the pressure, but just enjoying yourself, too 🙂
I hope you’ll feel inspired to blog! <3 <3
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3 <3
So along with the other 100 comments saying that they agree YES THIS POST!
It’s part of being a blogger to feel slumpy with posts. My biggest saviour is writing thoughts/ideas down and half writing drafts of crappy ideas that I can save and make something of later. But it’s just so satisfying to read something that just TELLS you that there are ways around it because sometimes it feels a little hopeless and dull.
Yet another fantastic post, keep doing you!
Aw thank you so, so much Becca, this means the world to me <3 Sometimes it's just so hard to find new ideas and keep being inspired, whenever you've been blogging for long, or not.
Thank you so much! 🙂
Great post, right now I’m just having troubles making time for reading let alone blogging.
Oh thank you so much! I get it, sometimes it’s hard to juggle blogging with life and everything else. I hope you’ll be able to find your rhythm soon! <3 <3
I think I finally have this figured out haha
YAY! I am so, SO glad to hear it 😀
I immediate scrolled up to check your new logo! How sharp! Different, but not tooooo different. I agree with you that a little bloggish spring cleaning does WONDERS for motivation.
What you said about inspiration from other bloggers is spot on. I read pots every once and a while where I suddenly have a Great Big Whole Idea pop into my head. I immediately rush over to my personal dashboard and make a draft with a few notes so when I need a discussion post down the road, I have one outlined! It’s awesome. I found one today, actually, and I’m multitasking in writing this comment, working, and trying to figure out exactly how I would work it. 😛
Twitter is a terrible idea, lol.
Aww thank you, I’m so happy you like it! I needed some change, but…. not too different for now haha 🙂
OH I am so glad to hear it, other bloggers are inspiration, just reading blog posts sometimes make me come up with new ideas as well and I love it 🙂
YEES hahaha, I have to admit that twitter can be the wooooooooorst haha 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment! <3
MARIE. I love this post. I love you. This is amazing. I’ve been running out of ideas on what to post and this is absolutely perfect. I really love that idea of reading old posts — I’m shuddering a lot just thinking about it, but yesterday I went a few months back and read through some and it was actually pretty fun! And I’m feeling more motivated to blog, especially seeing how much I’ve grown.
And yes, blog tags help so much!! I used to not do them since a lot of them were the same thing, but I really just love answering questions, and there are actually quite a few unique fun tags to do! LOVE THIS POST <3
Oh wow thank you so, so much for your sweet comment, May, this means the world to me <3 I find it really motivating to read old blog posts – even if it always makes me cringe a bit, I love seeing how much I've grown and changed and gained confidence and everything 🙂
Thank you so much! <3 <3
Hey Marie! Love this post… I feel just like you many times one line of a bloggers post triggers an idea for my own post… or I’ll be writing a comment and think hey, that would make a great post! It’s amazing how inspired you can get and not steal a single idea. I also talk to the people I live with and they inspire me all the time, lol. They are great and you get someone you can talk through ideas with. ❤️
Aw thank you so, so much Dani, I’m so glad you enjoyed this post 😀 I agree that reading blog posts and just commenting on someone’s post can spark up an idea, it’s the best thing ever. And yeees talking to people is GREAT too and it’s easy to get inspired this way as well 😀
Love this post so much!! I really agree about keeping notes and definitely yes to revamping old posts!! ??
Aww thank you so much, so glad you enjoyed it 😀 <3
You’re welcome! ??
This is ? I definitely agree that reading other blogs helps a lot with inspiration and often I’m getting so motivated reading through so many creative posts and ideas! I also love book tags and if I see a cool one I’ll definitely do it, even though I wasn’t tagged ?
I also keep a list of all my blog post ideas, which is really helpful, best write down an idea while it’s fresh in mind before you forget it ? And while it’s sometimes cringey reading old posts, revamping them or reclycling them in some way can really help to start things off ?
I’ve also read an excellent tip in one of Cait’s posts (this one here: https://paperfury.com/discussions-post-ideas-book-blog/) It’s all about getting inspired for a blog post by whatever book you’re reading (which goes hand in hand with what you said: always think about books!) That’s a tip that definitely helped me (and the post in general has a lot of good advice!) ?
I have to agree, there is just SO much inspiration in the book community and it’s incredible how inspiring people can be. We have such a great community overall 🙂
Thank you for sharing Cait’s post, it’s such a great post filled with amazing ideas for sure!! 😀
This such an insightful post. I tend to write down book ideas on my phone because sometimes they come to me on the go.
Oh thank you so much, so glad you enjoyed it! 😀
I do the same, what would we do without our phones haha 🙂
Such a fantastic guide, Marie!! To be totally honest, as you can witness, I haven’t felt very inspired and therefore motivated to blog in the last year. I mean I still have been releasing at least one post a month but it’s not real content in my opinion. However, I also can’t bring myself to stop or quit blogging forever which is probably why I still posted sometimes each month.
I’m currently on rotation (it’s like an externship for school) in Tennessee (which is about a 10 hour drive from where I live, lol) but I have high hopes to really return to the blogosphere when I get back home. What “inspired” me or sparked my interest was checking my Goodreads and eARC requesting accounts where I filed/archived all my book reviews. While looking at them and rereading them, I realized how much I missed that side of my life (and cringed like crazy because, ugh, I can’t reread stuff I write/create, haha). So I think looking at what you’ve done/accomplished in the past can motivate you to pursue great/greater things in the future; this really applies to books or whatever really. :’) (Man that sounds so cheesy, but I believe this!)
Oh I’m so, so very happy to hear that, Summer. I have to say, even if I keep up with you and everything thanks to your gorgeous instagram, your stories and everything, your reviews were some of my favorites to read <3 I'm really happy to hear you're feeling inspired to go on with it again and I hope that feeling will stay with you once you're done with your rotation! <3 <3
And YES, I so believe in that as well, re-reading old things we have done and being inspired by this. I do that a lot, too! <3
Thank you so, so much!! <3