5 ways to avoid a blogging slump

As someone who has recently gone through a blogging slump, I really want to avoid that happening again. I haven't felt that useless for a while - just seeing the blank page with the flashing cursor made me want to rip my eyes out and eat them.
Yeah, that bad!
This advice will hopefully help you avoid going through a blogging slump, by doing EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE to everything I've been doing for the past few months. It's been particularly bad for me, being both a music and book reviewing blog: hopefully this advice will come in useful, even if your blog is more focused than mine.

5) Don't treat blogging like a job

Blogging is not a job!
(Well, for some people it is... So that's not strictly true.)
But the majority of us are doing it for ourselves.
You need to remember that no one is paying you to update your blog, so you don't actually have to. If you don't feel like it you can take a few days off: go to the beach, get drunk with your friends (I mean, uh, don't drink kids!). Live your life.


4) Talk to your friends

When I took a break from blogging, I spoke to my friends about it. I said "Yo guys, I'm giving up the blog" and after some sharp inhales, they shouted "Alyce, why?!". 

I didn't really know. So I decided I was just taking a hiatus instead, and it ended up being a really brief one. 

If you ever feel yourself sliding towards a blogging slump, talk to your friends. They're your biggest supporters. 

3) Don't force yourself to write

If you strain and stress until you've produced a post, you'll hate what you've written and you'll hate the blog for forcing you to write it. If you don't feel like reviewing or writing about something, just don't. No one will mind if you pop a couple of words on Goodreads instead of writing a full evaluative post about the book you've just finished, or if you have fun with friends at a concert you attend rather than taking notes throughout the show. 

2) Accept that no one can do everything

I was trying to read ALL OF THE BOOKS, and see ALL OF THE BANDS at festivals. It's just not physically possible! There are more books published in a year than anyone can manage to read (not even Cait from Paper Fury, who is a reading machine) so there's no point in beating yourself up when you miss a release date.

If publishers send you books, it feels like you have to get your review posted before the release date, but you need to consider the fact that publishers send out a lot of proofs: if you don't review it someone else will. There's no need to panic!

1) Remember the mantra: Blogging = fun!

Talking to strangers on the internet, spouting your thoughts on everything and anything, choosing awesome gifs to accompany your posts (try and deny it, these gifs are top notch) - it's fun. If blogging isn't fun to you anymore you're doing it wrong, and that's how you get into a slump. Take a break, go and get some fresh air and exercise, and come back in a few days. You'll feel much better!

Hopefully these tips help you avoid the dreaded blogging slump. I'm definitely going to try to take my own advice in future.

Have you ever struggled with a blogging slump? How did you get yourself out of it?