I Have Nothing To Write About. And Ya Know What? That's OK

I have nothing to write about.

Seriously. There's no punchline. I literally have nothing to write about.

Before I wrote those 17 words, I scrolled through a few of my older blog posts for inspiration. I asked my beautiful wife what she thought I should write about. I asked my dog. I even ... dare I say it aloud ... asked ChatGPT to help me brainstorm a few ideas.

As it turned out, even AI wasn't much help (oh, the robotery)!

Fact: I've not skipped a weekly blog post on this site since crafting my first on Sept. 3, 2016. That's 455 posts (before this one, of course). The first one was titled Top 5 Tips for Aspiring Journalists. I had a lot of great tips back then, and to be perfectly honest, I still do. In many ways, I still feel like a bottomless well of creative ideas when it comes to the written word.

Knowing this, I could have racked my brain a bit more and stared at my blank computer screen a few minutes longer ... I would have come up with something.

But you know what? This works just fine, too.

The words don't have to flow freely. They don't have to be crisp and profound.

Sometimes, it's OK to start writing and see where you end up. I still have no idea what I will say next, and it's oddly exciting, comforting, and sneakily profound. Despite not knowing where I'm going with this, I'm starting to develop a point for this maddening exercise. I am reminded of something one of my author clients recently said: "Nobody signs up to ride a flat roller-coaster." Granted, he was talking about something completely different. But in many ways, writing is the same way.

It's not easy.

It's certainly not a level playing field.

The goalposts move all the time.

One minute, we are excited about something we just wrote. Maybe even the people reading our stuff scream to the mountaintops, "This is absolute GOLD. How can I become a member of the Steve Gamel fan club?" The next, we question every comma, plot twist, and well-chosen word. We can't write our way out of a paper sack. And to make matters worse, we can't seem to impress anyone with the final product.

In that same vein, you can argue that there will be plenty of times, such as right this second, when we aren't sure what to write.

But we keep writing because we believe we'll eventually reach the point where we actually have a point—even when it feels pointless.

But again, my argument is ... does there have to be a point—every time?

If anything, the act of writing is the point!

There doesn't have to be a map. We don't have to know where we are going.

There just needs to be motion ... the act of writing about something, someone ... anything!

So, if you are in the same predicament, don't pack up and walk away. Start writing—even if it has no clear and snazzy point. You may end up with something even better!

Hmmmm ... Maybe I ended up writing something of value after all.

I sure feel better now.

Thanks for reading!

STEVE GAMEL is the President & Owner of Edit This®, a writing and editing services company in Denton, TX. He is also a consultant, coach, and the author of Write Like You Mean It: Mastering Your Passion for the Written Word. Steve handles anything involving the written word. Give him a call today to help give your business a clear voice. 

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