When I first joined the Odyssey, I was so excited to grow as a writer and explore what I could do with it. In my time with my team, I've had fun with it so far. I am able to write about my feelings, opinions, and experiences. But the one thing that no one told me about was the writers block that comes with it.

Some weeks, I'll know exactly what I want to write about. Others, I'm stumped. Sometimes there's an experience that I'll have strong feelings about and writing them down is as easy as pie. But when that doesn't happen, my brain can't pop something out.

When that happens, this is what I do to overcome my writers block.

!. Search Odyssey For Article Ideas

Sometimes the Odyssey is a great resource when coming up with ideas! This is something that I used to do when I first started out at the Odyssey. I would find an article with an idea I liked, but once I started thinking about where I could go with it, I was able to come up with an idea of my own.

2. Bounce Ideas Off My Friends

When I feel like an idea is going nowhere, I usually talk to my friends and tell them that I'm unsure of what to write for the week. Hearing someone else's input other than mine helps me to think outside of the box. That way, I am able to get outside of my own head and really come up with an idea I'm passionate about.

3. Look At The News

The news can always be a great resource for material. I could write about a reaction I had to something that Trump did, or an opinion on a new bill that is being proposed in Congress. While it doesn't always have to be political, people usually have an opinion on policies and that can really strike a chord for writing.

4. Read What Others Have Written

One thing that I love to do is to read what other creators have written. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, and sometimes I don't agree with it. But this strategy always gets my gears turning. I begin to think about a response letter to the article, and that is sometimes what I need to get going.

When thinking about what to write for this week, I couldn't come up with anything. My best writing comes when there is an obstacle that I've overcome and I want to share about it. I couldn't think of an obstacle until I realized, writing block was just that. So I decided to turn that struggle into an article. Hopefully this can help you get out of a rut!