I don’t know if this happens to you at all, but it used to happen to me a whole lot of the time. The very mention of writing or putting my thoughts down on paper (or a computer screen) would leave me with the most terrible feeling in the depths of my stomach. I thought of how my words would be dissected with clinical precision and great gusto by those that read your blog. In any case, I used to feel that there are so many more meaningful and popular blogs that used to talk about the same things I did. How could I ever be as popular as them or as awesome as some of my favorite writers? How could I mimic their writing styles?

This is something that very many writers know fully well. It’s a crippling, debilitating, terrible fear to have, that you will never be good enough. It can be inspiring and intimidating to want to write as well as your favorites. It’s something to aspire to, or something that can really be your personal Everest, something you might never really surmount or that you feel will never surmount. But with time, I have learned something; the more you try to be someone, you are not being true to yourself. When you do that, your writing can never be of the quality you want it to be. What’s worse, it will never get the audience you want to since you’re simply an imitation of someone else, sometimes in a painfully obvious manner.

You must do everything in your power to avoid the paralysis that besets any writer when they think of trying to live up to the stature of their favorite wordsmith. But stop comparing yourself, you’re never going to sound like them just like they can’t naturally sound like you. Be comfortable in your own skin, and you will taste a lot more success once you start doing that. It doesn’t matter that everyone else has been at it for much longer, or even that they have more listening to their every word. Do you believe that there will never be a new face on the scene ever? If you do, allow me to tell you are wrong. No, I’m right, you’re wrong. Let’s run with that. A new star will always emerge, and it could be you. Start now, blog away and you could get noticed.

Every one of us (and yes, that includes you) has something about them that is fantastic and unique, your own calling card, your own secret weapon in the fight to win minds and eyeballs. Tap into that which makes you uniquely you and you will prevail. No other blogger can present your experiences, your memories and your perspective quite like you, and this is a fact. Pick a topic that you find interesting and are passionate about and write about it as well as you can. Just follow your own writing styles and watch the hits keep on coming.

Writing can really be a bit of a struggle for most of us, but if you were to be completely honest, writing in itself isn’t the hardest part. Whenever someone asks for writing tips, no one will really tell you to spell better or to use proper grammar. That you know that is a given; everyone knows how to piece content together in their own manner. Perhaps sometimes you need to leave an article to simmer overnight before you put the finishing touches on it, but by and large writing in itself isn’t the problem. Most of the best writing tips I’ve heard of address a simpler, often unaddressed issue; one to do with getting started.

Once the ball is set in motion, it’s easier to just get things done and write away as much as you want to or need to. But starting can be absolutely killer. I can’t tell you the number of times I have started to write something before pondering over it, letting minutes pass by before I wipe it all away because I’m displeased at something or the other. It’s all about finding that elusive groove while writing, and once you hit it the words just flow like water from a dam that has just burst. To just sit down and write would be perfect, too perfect maybe. But perhaps there is a way to expedite the process of finding that groove.

Perhaps the single most important thing you can do is to just be wholly devoted to writing. All too often a distraction sets in; your kid hollers at you, a phone rings, hunger pangs set in and those are just a few of the possibilities. It’s imperative that you don’t disturb that rhythm of yours, that you don’t derail that train of thought. Because once you snap out of that rhythm, it’s very hard to get back on that horse. It’s as good as gone with the wind, just kiss it good bye. Adios amigos and all that. Cut out the distractions, it will hamper your creativity like nothing else. Get some quiet time, a window of opportunity within which to write and stick with it.

Get yourself your own space in order to do so. As an amateur snooker player, I’ve played in some little cubby holes where I would line up a shot and draw my arm backwards, ready to bring it forward in one fluid motion when I find my elbow bumping against a wall and my space being cramped. Now that sort of thing obviously distracts you too and takes away from the moment. There’s no way you can write quality when your style is being cramped. You need your own room, you need to clear things out and you need to de-clutter the space around you. That translates into using an ergonomic chair, using a comfortable keyboard and using a well lit room so you don’t squint around in an effort to make out what is what. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is no fun and it’s no way to get serious work in. Get serious about your space.

Writing should be comfortable, a pleasure, so try and derive as much satisfaction as you can from it. There’s no point in being a mindless drone about it. Only finely tuned Olympians and athletes can derive pleasure from routine that is singularly compulsive. Enjoy yourself and the rest will follow. You will a topic that inspires you, an angle that sparks your mind and the words will just flow magically. Try it, you’d be amazed to see how it works. You’ll be reeling off the articles and posts in no time.

Your voice is a critical component of your online success. Now if you’re lucky enough to have a voice like Morgan Freeman’s or Patrick Stewart’s, you’ll even make a rip-roaring success of yourself in the real world. But the blogosphere is made up entirely of words, puns and some poor innuendos and to cut through all of the clutter you need to have not just material that is unique but a storytelling and writing that is captivating and engaging.

Finding your voice, then, should be your first concern for without it you will never have a successful blog. Some writers and even advertisers refer to it as a ‘hook’; without it any new reader will not be reeled in by your text. This is why you often find people talking about great first lines in novels, such as:

“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.”

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen”

“The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new”

From passion, to despondency to a humor darker than a moonless night, each of these lines has something in it that compels you to read on. Capture this well enough and your readers will keep on coming back to you like they’re addicted to crack. So how do you capture your voice and distil it into your blogs? Forget voice as you normally know it; your voice might be like Mickey Mouse’s for all we know but no one can hear your voice, so you’re safe (for now). What you should focus on more is the voice readers feel they hear when they read through your work. What shines through should be distinctly you and distinct in itself. It’s a very abstract concept and hard to capture, but once done it’s the most powerful tool in a writer’s arsenal.

Forget about blogs and think about your favorite writers instead for a moment. There is always that one quality about them that is so appealing, ranging from such things as Hemingway’s simplicity or Ludlum’s picturesque thrills. It’s that inescapable beauty that you must look to capture. Here’s how you can go about doing likewise.

Be spontaneous

Your inner chi flows most freely when you pull out the plugs in the dam that holds your soul. Okay, maybe it doesn’t but it is fun to make stuff like that up from time to time. Be spontaneous and just give air to your inner writer without judgment. Give yourself a three minute timer and just write, don’t think about it. Review yourself after three minutes and you’ll be surprised how freely your mind can paint a picture when you cut loose your inhibitions. What comes across will be quirky, will be authentically you and in the process, you can discover your voice.

Write as you’d speak

This is the truest test of your writing voice; is that writing on a page really you speaking? If it isn’t, re-work it until it is truly representative of you. If that confuses you, just sit back and ponder what is essentially you, words and phrases you might use and so on. You’ll see a difference come across instantaneously.

No norms

From a young age, we are drilled in the classical styles of writing and told to write in a standard style that conforms to norms. Sometimes, however, it is better to just break free and be you. The point of writing is to communicate a message and to that extent you must follow the written code. But feel free to experiment and use literary license on other occasions. In other words, feel free to explore yourself if you feel it’ll improve the quality and clarity of your message.

Just be brave in whatever you do and be yourself, a bit of sincerity and yourself reflected in a piece of writing goes a long way in endearing yourself to a reader.

Blogging should, even at the worst of times, be about having a bit of fun with words. I’m not saying you should be a wordsmith or someone spinning a web of words no one can unravel. Far from it, it’s more about just going back to basics and having fun or being playful. Think of it this way; when you were a kid you only did stuff you enjoyed. Why did all of that change? The message is still the same, to try and enjoy yourself because you’d be surprised to see just how much your writing will improve once you start to experiment with throwing in a little bit of joy in there.

Some will look at it as being frivolous and unnecessary, but some will relish the change in tone. Just as it is in the real world, you can’t please everyone all of the time but you can most certainly at least make sure that you are having a good time while you’re at it. This idea struck me while I was peering in at a class full of kindergarten kids busy with some art classes creating what I would at best (or worst) call modern art. Most of those kids were less busy trying to create a work of perfection and more intent on just having a whale of a time and slathering the walls (and occasionally the paper in front of them) with all sorts of colors while doodling all kinds of unrecognizable shapes.

Amazingly, even at such a tender age, some of them displayed a remarkable capacity for intricacy and quality in their work and looking back I realize that those were the ones that were having the most fun while they were at it. Over time, as I observed this intrepid bunch of kids more and more, I noticed subtle variations and distinct improvements in the way these kids used a brush or even their fingers to paint an image and the more they tried something new, the more evolved their art became over time.

And then it struck with the force of a thousand Elephants stampeding through the Savannah; how is it any different for blogging?

As you pick up and drop styles of writing and experiment, you will stumble upon some that stick and work for you while there will be those you discard and this is true for you and your readers. Your personal experiments could range from satirical styling to sardonic ranting to even using a third person writing style. There are no rules other than those that you impose on yourself, but there is one overriding rule; it has to be impactful for you and your readers, otherwise where’s the fun in trying something new?