As a writer or a blogger, one of our biggest fears is running out of things to say.
A while back, I wrote an article about award-winning novels and whether they’re really worth reading. As I was scheduling it, I had a quick search through some of my old posts to see if there were any suitable links I could include. Which is when I realised I wrote a similar piece two years ago.
I still went ahead and published the article, although the two probably make near enough the same argument.
Still, two years is a big enough gap that my perspective or writing style could have changed, and many of my current readers won’t have read a piece from this blog’s early days. Or if they have, I don’t suppose they’ll remember it.
But it made me wonder just how many of my blog post ideas have cropped up somewhere before. Even if a post isn’t recycling an old topic, there might be a piece of advice or something that appears periodically in different articles.
Sometimes I come up with an idea that I feel passionate about, only to find myself rehashing an argument I’ve made before. When that happens, I quickly lose my enthusiasm.
Even the idea of running out of ideas is something I’ve talked about before. How meta.
But certain subjects appear over and over across the internet. Search a popular subject and you’ll find all kinds of advice and opinions – often very similar – on numerous websites. It’s hard to be original, especially consistently and bloggers are often advised to rework old content when they’re struggling to come up with new ideas, so it is possible to cover the same ground in a positive way.
It’s always nice to work on fresh ideas, so returning to old content too often could be a sign that it’s time to take a new direction
Gemma says
I hear you. It can be incredibly difficult to be aware enough of our previous topics of discussion, so not to cause repetition. But I do have to say, sometimes maybe it’s ok to go back to a subject or similar argument. Especially, as you said, if it is something you are particularly passionate about. Plus it’s really interesting to see if your opinions have developed or been affected by time. But mostly, to me, it really does show that many issues aren’t solved, that fears or doubts remain as current and significant time after time, and are equally as interesting to read about now as they were a while ago. So don’t give yourself too hard a time, some things need to be continuously talked about.
Gemma
http://www.fadedwindmills.com
Amy Lord says
Sometimes it surprises me when I realise I’ve already written about something. It’s like tracing your steps through your own mind and realising you made the same connections, even years later!
Tiffany says
Running out of things to say has definitely been one of my biggest fears with having my own blog. But there are ways to avoid it by talking about new books and characters you’ve read, posting writing prompts or journal prompts etc. At least you never have to worry about running out of books to talk about, right? I also don’t think it’s a bad idea to discuss the same thing more than once. Readership changes with time. As long as you aren’t copying your old posts word for word, chances are you are still bringing something valuable to readers.
Tiffany at booklyoak.blogspot.com
Amy Lord says
Thanks Tiffany – I don’t mind discussing the same thing, but it’s nice to bring something new to the discussion. I have spells where I have lots of ideas and other times when my mind is a blank. If I was more organised I’d take advantage of the busy times and plan ahead but never quite manage it!