I’ve lost my writing mojo. What a strange thing to say, from someone who works as a professional writer. Fortunately, I don’t mean for my clients. Give me a topic and a tone of voice and I’ll give you 1200 words tomorrow.

But I can’t really write for myself. This is the first blog I have written for several months, and my posting has been sporadic for a while. What’s really weird, though, is that I wasn’t really aware that there was a problem until just a day or two ago. How could I not know?

Well, like I said, I write for other people. I create articles, blog posts, show notes for podcasts, emails, eBooks and social media updates. I LOVE my work – I enjoy the variety, hearing people’s stories, researching new things.

There’s a sort of magic when you open a blank document and you’re waiting to see what happens. For me, the words all swirl in my head and I wait for them to come out. And like knowing I got it right and getting great feedback; for people to resonate with what I wrote.

It’s Important to Write for Myself

I occasionally journal. I’ve written talks and workshops, mini courses and programmes and carefully crafted sales pages to talk persuasively about my offerings. I’ve enjoyed all of that.

I think the issue is that I’m not writing for myself, for pleasure. I’m not writing blogs for my business, either, which is frustrating. I WANT to share helpful, valuable content that give people a different way to look at writing for their businesses.

The fact is, I’m not really writing and that’s slipped my notice. I’ve stopped reading a couple of times in recent years and that was awful. When my Nana died two years ago I didn’t read for two years and I thought I’d never pick up a novel again.

Like most writers, I’m a reader first, and I’m never without a book. Maybe it was the trauma of her passing, or because a love of reading was something we shared, or maybe I was just tired after it all.

But I noticed it, because I’ve read at least a page of something since I learned to read. It’s easy to spot when that’s not happening. Anyway, I resolved it by reading 10 Rebus novels in a month, and then I was fine.

What do I do?

This is different. But now I know, I think I can do something about it. I suppose I am doing something right now!

So, what can I do? I’m not a fiction writer, but I can develop a regular scribbling habit, using creative prompts, free writing and writing exercises. Things that will help me find the fun in the process.

In the past I’ve had projects – writing challenges – to keep me motivated and interested. The guys helping me with my marketing when I first started my copywriting business dared me to publish a blog a day for 90 days, and I did.

I also wrote my own version of ‘The History of the World in 100 Objects’. Publishing two (long) blogs a week for a whole year. That was a lot of fun. The end of that project coincided with me being very ill, and I think my mojo started to wane then. I was focused on my recovery and didn’t have a lot of energy to spare.

So a project of some sort, with a theme and a commitment to publish regularly might help. I might even get around to finally producing a newsletter! And I’m excited about an idea for a new podcast, exploring creativity, disrupting business norms and doing things differently. That should be very inspiring!