(Click Here) for the podcast version of this article
It happens to us all at some time or other. You just flat run out of things to talk about with your podcast, or, at least you think you do. You struggle and strain your brain, trying to come up with something worth talking about, but it seems the harder you try the more blank your mind goes. No matter what you come up with, nothing seems to germinate into an idea worth spending any amount of time on.
So, what do you do . . . ?
You begin to write. That’s right, you take the first things that come to mind and do your darndest to expound on them. You work at them until one of them catches fire within you and you begin to notice that it has captured your interest. After that, the rest is following the flow. Yes, you heard me, “you follow the flow.”
So, what does that mean? It means, you have just forced your way through a bout with ‘podcaster block’ and the creative juices begin to flow once again.
Sometimes, it takes forcing yourself to think about subjects you want to talk about, write them down and then, after you have some fresh ideas before you, your mind begins to work on those ideas. Somewhere along the way, your mind takes the hint that you aren’t going to stop bothering it until you have something to focus on so it begins letting the ideas flow. (At least that’s one way of looking at it.)
If that sounds strange, maybe you haven’t actually experienced it yet. But don’t worry, you will. “Writer’s block”, “podcasters block”, or whatever you want to call it, does happen and it happens to everyone, (somewhere in their journey through this life).
When I run across those times that I just don’t have the ideas readily available, here’s what I do.
- I take the time to write down some titles of some subjects I want to talk about.
- After I have written down a few, I go back and begin writing a sentence or two to remind me of the specifics I want to talk about.
- After I have written down those ideas, I walk away from them for a period of time. That’s right, I walk away from them and let them gel a bit.
- Either a few minutes, or possibly even a day or so later, I go back and read over them again.
- I take the one that captures my attention and begin to write more about it. If it doesn’t begin to flow, I save it and go back and grab another one and do the same.
As I continue reading and writing on them, I find I have several good ideas, and possibly, even a few finished articles. Then I go do the same thing all over again. Usually, I find I have enough to keep me busy for a while. Some of them even get combined together to become one article.
If all of the above things don’t seem to work, I go check out a few of the sites I like to frequent and see what they are talking about. In doing this, I hope to get inspired by an idea or two, or, at least a new angle on an old idea to discuss. With all of the available information out there, I know there just has to be something I haven’t been able to think of and it helps to get other people’s input and viewpoint. Their input may or may not be exactly what you want to talk about, but, it could quite possibly be something that inspires you in a whole new direction and gives you an abundance of things to talk, or write, about.
See ya next time . . .
