Top 10 things to do/write about if you’re experiencing blogging burnout

Dango…Dango…Dango…Wait, these are not dangos.

So, here I am, sitting in front of my keyboard laboriously thinking of something to write, when this absolutely ingenious idea hits me. Why not write about not being able to write? No I haven’t lost my mind and I have been taking my medication on time, just stay with me a moment here. What do you do if you have no idea what to write, and feel like you’ve burnt out? How to reinvigorate your burning desire and passion for anime blogging?

Here’s the top 10 things to do or write about if you’ve burnt out.

Re-watch Haruhi for further fap materi- I mean, inspiration.

10. Re-watch the series that you enjoyed blogging about
There’s no rule that says you can’t re-blog a show that’s several seasons old, but if you’ve blogged it already, your readers may suspect that something is wrong when they find 2 “Mai-Hime 13″ posts in your archive. The important thing here isn’t re-blogging a show that you’ve already blogged, but to re-watch it in an attempt to find the feeling, that passion that you once had. You might not find that any of the current shows ignite that same feeling in you, but you can try deluding yourself into thinking that the show you’re watching now is as fun and exciting or thought provoking as your favourite show.

9. Watch something that you would normally not consider watching
You know what they say about expanding your horizon. Most people have one or two genres of anime that they normally won’t touch with a 10-foot pole, but sometimes it’s a good idea to give something a second go. You never know, it might now magically appeal to you, however unlikely that is. If you still don’t like it, you get to write a free and easy flame post! If you can’t think of anything that you dislike, try guro or tentacle! I don’t want any comments saying “Hey I like guro/tentacles!”

8: Read a lot of blogs
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, but where do you get inspiration from? If you’ve got no inspiration of your own, it’s easy to steal other people’s. Hell, that’s how the blog community is supposed to work, so no one can accuse you of being an idea thief. If they did, you can flame them! Hey, that’s another thing to do!

FLAME ON!

7: Flame someone
With all these bloggers out there, there’s bound to be someone who disagrees with you. Why not flame them? I mean, civility and polite discussions are for the people who can kick you in the crotch, and we have no need of such trivial matters on the great internet that is the culmination of thousands of years of human civilization! Also remember since they can’t kick you in the crotch, it doesn’t matter if you piss them off. So pick a post they wrote, disagree with everything they say, and call them stupid. Show them who’s boss, primary school style!

6: Draw comics of in-jokes that only your small clique of internet friends will understand

5: Discuss anime with your (internet) friends
Sometimes you just can’t come up with any ideas. Sure you can do number 8, but that can be boring and time consuming. Talking with friends, however, is a fun filled activity that not only gives you awesome ideas to blog on, but also develop your friendship at the same time! Of course, if you don’t have friends (and if you’re writing an anime blog, chances of that being true is pretty high), you’ll have to make do with internet friends. Visit #animeblogger@irc.irchighway.net for highly intelligent, enlightening and above all civilised conversations!

Nice Cruiser

4: Make a post of an interesting image with an appropriate witty one-liner
Or if you’re not witty enough, why not post the latest meme? You can always introduce more people to NICE BOAT or timeless classics like “A Cat is Fine Too”. The witty one-liners takes some flair and real skill to pull off, and it helps if you’re already established and popular. But if you’re already established and popular, you don’t need my tips on how to keep writing do you?

3: Beg someone else to write for you, or threaten to quit unless someone joins and helps
Impz’s good at this one. I don’t blame him though, considering how bad the rest of us are at keeping a regular schedule of posts. Of course, some of you have something called pride, and might not want other people to taint your blog. Then it’s time to consider what’s more important: your pride or your blog (um tough choice). TJ_Han recently gave up his pride, and you can really see the rise in QUALITY in the posts on his blog. If you started out as a group blog, however, you can shamelessly recruit as many people as you want to replace those bastards who ran out on you.

2: Go to the AB.net Antenna or AnimeNaNo, and write about the first anime you see
You don’t even need to have seen it or know anything about it. In fact, it’s better if you know nothing about it. It might completely destroy your reputation, but that only matters if you have a reputation to begin with. I wouldn’t personally attempt this, but if you’re funny and have a good imagination, or if you picked a particularly bad anime, your post might end up being more entertaining than its subject. Extra points if your made up post actually makes sense in context of the show.

1: Make a “Top 10″ list