Feels like time to get back into writing again

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   Paddygsoundposted 2 years ago

   We have probably all been there, but given my favourite topic is writing about cruises and tips and tricks for getting the most out of a cruise holiday.... well lets just say the changes to the world over the last few years have made me feel aimless. When the cruises stopped, so did I, and I have closed myself off.
   I think I'd almost forgot how fulfilling I found it when I finally get to push that publish button. I didn't stop completely, but I know I have a bunch of outlines and half refined articles that I just need to put up.
   How does everyone else keep themselves motivated to keep posting articles? Just in case my current new found momentum flags.

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      Kenna McHughposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      I love discovering new topics. That keeps me motivated. I also have favorite topics. Those keep me writing.

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         Paddygsoundposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, I have definitely fixated on the one topic, that is for sure. Time for a change I think. At the very least it will hopefully bring back that thrill of creativity that one gets when they start something in a new space.

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      Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with all the other author opinions.                                        The pandemic even inspired me to write a poem.                                  Does the cruise had a party experience? How's each journey? Exotic breakfast, and or dinner?                                              The inspiration to write on a cruise are many.

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   Jodahposted 2 years ago

   Hi Paddygsound,
   Yes, I understand why you lost momentum and motivation due to COVID, when your niche topic is cruising. That industry was virtually forced into complete shutdown for a couple of years. I love cruising..it is the best holiday possible and fortunately went on one about six months before COVID was discovered.
   Now that the industry is back up and running it is a good time for you to be writing about it again as people will be anxious to make up for lost time.
   
   I never lose the motivation to write, but I do try to diversify my topics otherwise I end uo boring myself, and everyone else. So, when you lose inspiration for one thing…try to find something else that interests you to write about in the meantime.

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      Paddygsoundposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Yes I think i should diversify my topics somewhat into the future. I think between my day job and all the changes we had to go through, it just took some of the fun out of it for me. I still wrote some, but instead of publishing them, I have just let them sit on my OneDrive. I will make time to at least get those finished and then look for another topic or two that brings me joy.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 2 years ago

   I agree with what Jodah says.
   
   I would add that writing during the pandemic wasn't necessarily a bad idea, as the assumption is that the holiday industry would eventually recover and it can take an article at least a year to climb up the Google rankings anyway.
   
   Speaking of rankings, this is a particularly challenging time for getting lots of traffic and earnings on here.
   
   I've never had a problem with motivation for writing, but what I write and where I publish has varied considerably over the years.

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      Paddygsoundposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      I think between my day job, COVID and some other stressful things that have happened over the last couple of years, I have languished. I have an OneDrive full with half finished articles.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         For me, writing's an obsession and I've done it almost every day for many years.
         
         I actually saw the pandemic period as a particularly good time to write and kept going. Even having COVID didn't stop me, although I don't think the quality was so good, as the illness messed up my brain(!)
         
         Working full-time is more problematic for writing, because of the time constraints and fatigue. I generally used to try and do a couple of hours each evening but it's difficult to be productive when you're tired after a full day's work.
         
         To be honest, I don't know what I'd do with the extra time if I wasn't writing. I enjoy the challenge. It's like doing a quiz with lots of constant problems and questions to answer.

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   Glenn Stokposted 2 years ago

   Hey Paddy, you initiated a very thought-provoking discussion about what all writers deal with: how to keep motivated with our writing. We all have unique methods, and I'll share mine.
   
   I always make notes whenever I think of something I want to write about in the future. And I add to those notes as more thoughts come to mind. That process continues over several months, with each entry taking only a few minutes to write.
   
   Over time, these notes grow into drafts for the final product. And I actually have several articles developing simultaneously with this method.
   
   So, when I'm ready to publish another article, I choose one of my drafts to complete. Much of the content is already done due to all the miscellaneous additions I've made. Therefore I'm motivated to finish them for publishing.
   
   I do have to admit that the final work is time-consuming. For example, I need to assemble references to show credibility to certain statements I've made. And I often need to rearrange the content so the logic flows appropriately.
   
   In addition, I find myself adding even more to the original notes when finalizing the content for a completed article. Nevertheless,  I'm motivated to do that since a significant part of the material is done, thanks to having accumulated all my notes.

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      Paddygsoundposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      I have notes all over the place at the moment. I have managed to bring a few things together the last few days but yep still struggle to stay on my feet when it comes to writing for hubpages. I'm a weird one that way.

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         Glenn Stokposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         It's not just you. I struggle with that too, Paddy.
         
         HubPages has lost a lot of Google support in the last few years, and that has been affecting all of us. But I don't desire to give up since I see them working hard at trying to find a solution.
         
         They have done may good things in the past, such as better support of mobile users and creating the niche sites to avoid losing ranking as a content farm.
         
         And they keep experimenting to improve SEO. So, I can see it's a struggle for them too. We're all in this game together.

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   Paddygsoundposted 2 years ago

   Hopefully they make things better, I do wonder when I have looked at an article and the page/ads take ages to load in. How that must be effecting rankings if every page does that. I have a fast connect and a very fast computer and I still see it lag.

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      Glenn Stokposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      You brought up an important point, Paddy. I often see huge sections of blank white space that I need to scroll through to get to the rest of an article.
      
      For the fun of it, I sometimes wait to see what happens (actually, that's more for my research than for fun). Then, after a while, an ad loads into that space, as I suspected would happen.
      
      The problem you mentioned is a concern I wish they would address because I would not be surprised if we were losing readers when they see a page full of white space.
      
      How many people would scroll through all that to continue reading? Many might just click away, and that reduced retention time lowers ranking.

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   dylananthony4uposted 2 years ago

   Don't feel guilty for taking breaks.

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   Paddygsoundposted 2 years ago

   9 days since the original post and I have published 2 articles. Yay.
   Probably not my finest, but good enough of a start. Hopefully, I can sustain the motivation.

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      Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Glad you did...keep it up. Thanks.

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         Paddygsoundposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for the support.

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            Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            You're welcome.

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