Having a hard time coming up with something to say in your blog? The following is a few tips I've learned.
Step 1: Just write. Most the time I have no idea what my post is going to be about before I start typing, then I stumble upon something, rewrite the beginning and looks like a cohesive post.
Step 2: Write what you feel about what you do. One of my companions on the mission would enter in just purely what we did that day in his journal like such:
"We studied, we went to teach Josephina, she wasn't there, so we walked around for a little bit, contacted a few people and got a few appointments"
Pretty dull ya? Here's what I would write:
"I read an interesting passage (id quote said passage) that made me feel different about how I had been interpreting the gifts of the spirit. When we went to teach Josephina she wasn't there, I had a feeling she wouldn't be, I don't think I'll go back, she doesn't seem to be interested, just another person who wants to talk with us instead of listen to us. I'll pray about it and we'll see next week. Our contacting didn't go well, I let him do most of it, he seemed to need the practice I think. I was pretty impressed when he got an appointment off this older guy we talked to, usually people in that apartment don't respond well..."
Now, maybe it's not condensed very well, and maybe it's too this or too that, but the fact that its something makes it worth something. A year back looking at that day would my companion remember Josephina? or that awesome contact? Probably not. And the difference I discovered is that it's about writing what you do, and then how you feel about it, however mundane it is (and being honest about it). If you can analyze how you feel about something, you can write in my opinion, maybe not well, but you can write something and that's the important part.
Step 3: The rewrite. You can always go back over it and fix whatever, but it's best if you don't. Having it free and loose is a good way to draw people in, it feels like a conversation. So just let the little stuff slide and follow step 1. People don't really care so much about how I feel about something I think, it's just the fact that I offer it up to them to have a comment conversation about it. The old adage "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" is true in writing. Most of my posts are about my own ignorance interesting enough (though ask me in person I'll fiercely deny that!).
In Conclusion I want to inspire people to write more because I've reaped many of the blessings of writing in a journal or writing this blog even (which in some ways is a journal). I can also pull the religion card and say you're actually supposed to be doing it! The general authorities said so! (not blogging per say, but journaling maybe). Writing can be a totally freeing experience and one that can help and change everything in your life for the better. I feel I get to know myself much better by writing more and more, and I like myself, so I count it as a good thing.
