Try Something New

As with everything else in life, writers frequently find themselves in ruts. You may have gotten your start writing for newspapers but would like to branch out into longer length feature pieces in magazines. Or, you may be tired of writing 2,000 plus word articles and looking for something with as much substance, just shorter.

I recently found myself in a rut all around. I wanted to lose weight but continued to eat too many calories, hoping my three 30-minute sessions at the gym each week would justify it. Boy, was I wrong! Now I'm working out much more than that and eating more whole foods and less saturated fat. While I was too terrified to try a cycling class before, now I'm in one once a week, and running more miles than I have in years. It was hard at first, and I won't lie and say there wasn't a fair amount of pain involved in stepping up my routine. But it didn't take long to start seeing the results, so I decided to apply some of my newfound wisdom to my writing.

I came across an opportunity to do some ghostwriting, and was a little nervous about it at first because it's something I've never done before. But after I had a few assignments under my belt, I began to feel more liberated. So someone doesn't like what I wrote? Oh well, my name isn't on it! Anonymity feels good every once in a while, especially if you are still receiving a reasonable paycheck from it.

So I urge you to try something new if you feel your writing and interests have gotten a little stale. Don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone. Start up a new blog. Query a publication you never thought of contacting before. Branch out into a little public relations writing. You'll feel much better mentally (and perhaps discover a new stream of income) once you do!