How to never run out of inspiration for your posts

in ART LOVERS5 years ago

I got motivated to give this advice because since I started curating posts that have low rewards (check out the curation trail for posts under 1 USD here), I’ve found many Steemians commenting about their lack of inspiration or how they don’t have much to say that day.

For the last month, I’ve been able to do at least one post daily without breaking a leg (I missed a day but it was because I had destined that day to internet fasting). Whether they are good posts remains to be judge by each reader, but at least to me, they were interesting writeups and videos that I can look back to and learn from.

So what’s my constant source of inspiration? How do I find something relevant to post every day? The recipe is quite simple, I ask myself before writing two questions:

What did I do today?

How do I feel about that?

And bam! Just try it, it’ll have you writing tons! And you don’t have to literally write the answer, but it’ll get you started on an interesting idea. Of course, I understand that not everybody wants to expose their personal life here or get very intimate with their writing. But I got a solution for you! Just say what you gotta say through a fictional character. It’s fun and it’s free.

If you do this short exercise of asking yourself those two questions you’ll see there is never a shortage of things to write about. Whether it was a conversation you had during that day, something that gave you joy or sadness, some recent spiritual breakthrough or realization you had, you’ll have plenty and plenty to write about. You can even use as inspiration those dark thoughts that you want no one to know about.

The best thing is that the source of the content is your own experience! And knowledge gained through experience is wisdom. So what you’re doing is sharing your recently gained wisdom with the community. Just how awesome is that?


Some other tips I can give you to keep that pen flowing:

Be honest

We all want to be liked it’s true and sometimes we find ourselves saying things that others want to hear so we are approved. But I assure you that if you’re honest you’ll still find a group that likes you and supports you, despite others being repelled by your words. In any case you’ve won because you summoned those that support your honesty and sent away those who would have preferred you with a mask.

This will benefit you as a writer and as a person. As a writer, the more honest and open you become, the less you have to hide and the more you can say without worrying about being caught pretending to be something you’re not.

At the same time, you might realize only after writing that something you said feels “off” and that it doesn’t align with the best version of yourself. In that case, you’ve given yourself a clue on what you can work so that your future posts do align better with that ideal you would like to reach!

Don’t do it for the rewards

Yes, we are all in Steem because of the rewards. We want to make money. I want to make money and I want everyone here to make a ton of money, become financially independent and allow themselves to live out their wildest dreams. I wish so with all my heart and I get frustrated when too much time passes before a big reward comes my way so don’t interpret that I believe myself to be a Zen master who’s got it all solved.

What I mean to say is that the curators with bigger wallets are very unpredictable with when and what they’re going to support. I’ve sometimes written pieces that I’m very proud of and gotten small rewards and later been rewarded a lot for posts that I practically wrote to keep up with the daily posting, having little hope for how much rewards they would make.

Also, you have to think that curators have limited voting power and that has to be distributed among hundreds of daily posts so they probably run out many times without being able to cover everyone.

The point is to avoid writing what you think could give you big rewards. Write what you’re truly passionate about, what really makes you tick. Enjoy the writing, learn from it and don’t be afraid to mess things up. The next day no one will hold a grudge against you (unless you take it out personally against someone, lol), and you’ll have a new chance. Also, there are other rewards you can get, like a new follower or a valuable comment that might change your perspective on life (it happened to me).

Write first, edit later

I remember there was once a time where I would carefully select the words I would use in my writing before getting anything actually written.


Feeling like this was the result, lol.

I broke that habit by practicing writing the first thing that came off the top of my head even if it was absolutely lacking in sense. But after that, it was pretty easy to combine both of them and now I just write it out as it comes, knowing I can read it afterward and edit whatever needs to be corrected.

Don’t measure too much what you want to say, unless you’re trying to create a delicate piece of art where nothing is taken lightly. If you are attempting to do that then take your time and forget about getting the post done in the day. You might be able to finish it but it’s not certain and hurrying to finish it will take away the very purpose of what you were doing.

If you want to keep the creative juices flowing and the posts rolling out you can’t be so demanding. Take it easy, anything you say with honesty and from the heart has great meaning and whether it receives rewards or not does not determine the real value it offers to yourself and the community.

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Good ideas to get inspiration. I've been following these steps too whenever I want to write something outside drawing and it works great.
Moreso, write something that is related to your interest.

Posted using Partiko Android

Nice! Keep the creativity flowing ;)

Yeye, you say the truth! :)
I am now in the lazy mode... just interacting with comments :D
surfing steem randomly... and makes me feel the fun ;)
Just about now I have to post my actifit report from yesterday... and I don't have photos :)
this thing keeps me moving... and now I'll give it a try :P

Glad to know you enjoy it! It's nice to relax and just surf every now and then ;)

 5 years ago 

Personally, for me, sometimes what I need is the inspiration to actually write; I already have the idea. That problems requires a committment which is sometimes difficult when you suffer a severe case of the IDGAF's.

I do like your list, particularly the idea of having to say what you want through the words of a fictional character. Not a bad idea at all!

Well, that's a different story altogether, lol.

The fictional character is great, I like to use it when I need to go into my shadows.

Thanks for stopping by!

So many good ideas not only for creativity and keeping hot the pen but also how to take our participation in a reward model which not always works as we think it should. I can't be more agree on the point that the main value of a post is that we ourselves give to the work in terms of our knowledge, experience or simply fun!! Rewards are always a mystery for me!!
I would add the many contests that you always can find running through all the blockchain. Some of them with all kind of provocations for creativity and hands on work!!
I'll be checking your curation work, @Fenngen, I always find admirable those initiative to give breath to authors with great work!!
Best vibes for every project and much Joy in creation!! :)

Yeah I should of mentioned contests and community questions, they're a good source of inspiration as well.

Thanks friend! Best vibes to you as well!!

Más abrazos y buen viento, @Fenngen, por acá nos seguimos encontrando! 🤗

Ahhh.. Great advice. Good stuff here to help get some over the hump of wondering what to write about. Some also say you should keep your blog focused in. Don't write about just anything.. stick to a theme. I don't give a hoot about that. I rather like the people who surprise me with the unexpected post.

Happy writing!

Yeah, I don't think that applies to the Steemverse, sometimes I write things that I've never written about before and get the best rewards. I think authenticity and having fun are key here and I love it!

I agree with you that it's nice to find unexpected posts, this is a wonderfully diverse enviroment :)

Happy writing to you as well!

 5 years ago 

This is excellent! You have given some wonderful advice to those who struggle for topics. Bravo! As with you, I never run out of things about which to blog... in fact, I have so many ideas I have trouble deciding which one to do next! LOL!

A couple of years ago when folks were complaining on Discord about not thinking of a topic for their next blog, I devised this list and think it has helped several people:

CONSIDER WRITING ABOUT:
● your hobbies. Tell us what you do, & why.
● your job, or the favorite job you once had, or what job you want.
● a guided-tour of your town, or the countryside near where you live. Show us some photos and tell us where you would take visitors.
● a challenge you overcame and how you persevered.
● favorite restaurant, food, book/author, movie, TV-show? And why?
● favorite childhood memories.
● favorite holiday. Why is it your favorite?
● favorite kind of music. What musicians do you like?
● something crazy that once happened which turned-out okay.
● do you live in the area where you were born?
–If yes, why did you stay?
–If no, what prompted you to move away?
● Show us your house or apartment. How long have you lived there?
● what vehicle would you purchase, if money were no obstacle? And why that one?
● what sports you like. Are you a participant or a spectator? Why do you like it?
● who or what brought you to the Steem blockchain.

Thanks for inspiring people with your great advice in this post! 🙌🏻

I like your list, I will consider writing about those things as well, might learn a lot about myself in the process :) Thank you!

Very good tips. It makes little sense to be too anxious about the rewards. As you say, curators are unpredictable.I usually stop posting for reasons beyond my will or power, If it were for me, I'd be posting every day, even several times a day.

Sure, I'd be doing more but there's a life outside the blockchain too, lol!

 5 years ago 

One thing I love about posting on steem is that it has made the mundane in my life seem marvelous.

Good advice in this especially regarding trying to create a delicate piece of art where nothing is taken lightly. which is mostly what I'm doing now. I'm heavily into writing poetry, and each piece takes hours and hours. It's well worth the work when I end up with something that I really value. Poetry usually makes very little though, as any poet can tell you.

It's true... poetry, no matter how finely crafted, gets little in the way of rewards. Presentation can help though. Have you checked out Savannah Brown? She aids her poetry with audiovisual support and does rather well on YouTube:

I know that's putting way more work into it, but perhaps doing something simpler is doable and offers good results ;)

 5 years ago 

Thank you. I am trying to figure how how to post readings of my work to enhance my writings, so this is very helpful. What's another 20 hours to earn $4 instead of $2? lol. That's not at all why I do it, but it sure doesn't hurt to get monetary validation.

I know, especially after you've put a lot of hours of work... hopefully we'll live to see the day Steem price rises lol

Everything you say is true, especially being honest with what we do and write. Yesterday I happened to do nothing, but I hope today I can start again

Every day is a good day to start over. May inspiration come your way!