Sometimes, finding inspiration is hard….

It’s not always easy coming up with article topics. There are times when I feel full of inspiration and I instantly come up with a good idea, and there are times when I don’t have a clue what to write about. When I get into a situation like that it can be hard because I find myself often settling for a topic that I don’t always find inspiring. I want to write to the best of my ability and that’s not always easy to do when I don’t have a lot of inspiration.

Writer’s block is a real thing!!

I’m sure we’ve all heard talk of writer’s block. It’s always a term associated with a writer. Makes sense, right? When you’re a writer for the Odyssey, writer’s block, I find, really does happen. It usually occurs when you’re fresh out of ideas and are struggling to find a good topic. I’ll sit in front of my computer for hours on end staring at the screen with a blank mind. Thankfully, eventually something comes to me, and my hands start flying across the keyboard. An idea is sparked every now and then when I have writer’s block, and when it is, I must act quickly. Wherever I am, whether it be in front of my computer or out shopping, if I get an idea, I pull out my phone or a piece of paper and jot down my idea. It helps with the writer’s block because at the end of every week when I sit down to submit an article for the odyssey, I just pull out my list of ideas and boom I have something to write about!

It’s not a popularity contest….

I’ll admit that when I first started writing for the Odyssey, I placed a lot of stock in how many views I got on my articles. However, I realized that it didn’t matter how many views I got because even though to get a lot of views is gratifying, being able to write freely about things that interest me, and knowing that my work is out there for others to read, is even more gratifying for me. Sure, I might get sad when I check my writer’s dashboard every week to see that I only got 12 views on an article, but then I remember how I enjoyed writing the article and the inspiration I found that enabled me to write it, and I don’t worry about the number of views I get. When I see an article of mine that hasn’t gotten a lot of views, I think of how I can change that. I think of ways that I can better my writing to make it even more inspiring to my readers and I take account of the topics I’ve written about that were the most popular, and I try to stick to those more appealing subject matters. I’ve learned that it’s not a popularity contest though, because writing for the Odyssey is just something I enjoy doing, and I get gratification from it no matter how popular my articles are.

Writing for the Odyssey is fun!

Writing for the Odyssey is not like writing a seven-page paper assigned to you in your English class, it’s a leisurely type of writing, at least, that has been my experience. Unlike school, where the writing is often strictly academic, writing for a college newspaper, the writing can be whatever you want it to be. I can write about anything that comes to mind, and anything that I’m passionate about, which makes writing fun. I’ve always loved to write, and I’ve been told that I’m a good writer, but until I started writing for the Odyssey, I haven’t been able to really showcase my talents. There is such a wide range of controversial topics for me to write about, and whether they are deep and emotional ones or humorous ones, I enjoy writing them all.