Dealing With Writer’s Block

Writer’s block, it’s that dreaded thing that happens to all bloggers at some point. You struggle to just come up with ideas and sometimes when you get those ideas you can’t even wrap your head around how to express them. It’s a pain and believe me when I say I’ve been there before.  I’m sure many of you have as well.

The important thing is to not let yourself get discouraged when writer’s block sets in. Discouragement + Writer’s Block = No Motivation. At least that’s been my observation. One of my bigger regrets is that I let writer’s block nearly ruin my blog.  I was in the midst of a drought of ideas and basically posting funny pictures or obscure news facts.  It felt like I wasn’t putting any of myself into my blogging.  Once that feeling set in I stopped writing and that lasted for almost 10 months.

The nice thing about taking a 10 month hiatus is that I came back refreshed, the bad thing is that I had let my blog grow stagnant and lost readers. From that point on, I decided to do whatever I could to ensure I never let my blog just wither away and die due to my writer’s block and inability to put together ideas. The biggest piece of advice I can give to any blogger is to not let writer’s block or a lack of ideas take you over.

Lately I’ve come up with a few ways to try to alleviate writer’s block and make sure that my blog stays active. I’ll share some of them below, but please if you have any other suggestions please put them in the comments below. Your comments could be just the tool needed by another blogger to get re-motivated.

1. Find a way to decompress.  For me that’s taking my dog out for a walk, reading a book, or plugging in a video game.  Pretty much anything to take my mind off of writing and maybe get a new perspective.
2. Read your friend’s blogs. Sometimes commenting on other blogs can be enough to spark an idea. In the past I’ve commented on a semi-controversial post and that’s sparked an idea within me that I take and run with. Sometimes your fellow bloggers can really kick-start your writing spirit.
3. Search the web for interesting topics. In all honestly, Twitter has been a great tool for coming up with new ideas. Looking at what topics are trending gives great ideas.  Twitter only allows people to use 140 characters to express an opinion and these short opinions can be the seed of a great idea.
4. Talk to your friends. Talk to some of your friends via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever method you like. Catch up and see what’s new in their lives.  Sometimes just hearing about what is going on with others with reignite your creative spirit.
5. Go old-fashioned and use pen and paper. I don’t know about you all but writing on paper makes me think differently. I write a little slower and more deliberately.  I think this is mostly because writing with a pen is much slower than typing.  It puts me in a different frame of mind that can be helpful.
6. Offer to guest blog for someone. Bear with me a sec as this might seem a little crazy. I’ve guest blogged for Tom Baker twice. The first time I stuck to my comfort zone of writing a SciFi/nerdy topic. The second time I was deep in writer’s block and tried to come up with a topic outside my comfort zone.  Forcing myself to write about things I normally don’t was very helpful to me. That’s one of the things I like about writing on Flavor Internationale is that its a different kind of topics for me.
7. Poll your readers for ideas. I’ve not done this yet, but the next time I have a bad case of writer’s block I plan to create a post asking my reader’s what they want to hear about or what topics they find interesting. It’s a good way to get new ideas and to connect directly with your audience.

I’m sure you’ve all caught on by now, this post was an elaborate way for me to try to get over my own writer’s block. I think it might have even worked! Please add any other ideas for curing writer’s block in the comments below. I think it would be invaluable to many other writers in the blogosphere.

A Day in the Life of a Mountaineer

If you know me outside the world of blogging I’m sure you’ve picked up on the fact that I am a proud alum of West Virginia University. I’m also a rabid fan of Mountaineer sports especially football. Football games and tailgating in Morgantown, West Virginia are a unique experience, one I hope to share with you all in this post. With a combination of video, pictures, and a written narrative I hope you can begin to understand just how wonderful an experience a football game in Morgantown is.

Games at Mountaineer Field have been described as a party with over 65,000 of your best friends, and I think this also extends to all the pregame festivities. No game is more fun than the Backyard Brawl, the annual rivalry game between West Virginia University and the hated (at least in my eyes) University of Pittsburgh. The Backyard Brawl started in 1895 and this year was the 104th meeting between the two teams. As an interesting side note, the only time the Brawl has been cancelled is due to the last two World Wars.

I’ll be the first to admit that the group I tailgate with… well we might be a little extreme.  Regardless of the kickoff time we are out bright and early tailgating at around 7 in the morning. For kickoffs at noon this is no big deal. However, the Backyard Brawl kickoff was slated for 7:00 PM.  That made for a long day. What makes the tailgating so special is that everyone is welcomed regardless of team affiliation.  That even included our rivals from about 70 miles north. Yes, there are horror stories about how people are treated but those are few and far between and isolated incidences. I honestly believe you can find problems anywhere you go, it’s just a matter of how hard you look.  Pitt is arguably one of our biggest rivalries and we allowed Pitt fans into our tailgate and even gave them food and beer. For the most part the Mountaineer Nation was on its best behavior.

We Even Let the Pitt Fan Tailgate

As you may have noticed in the above picture there is a reference to the statement “Eat Shit Pitt” and while the language might be a bit vulgar this is a chant that goes back far into the rivalry with Pitt. It’s also something that can be heard regularly on the day of the Backyard Brawl. To be honest it doesn’t take much for this chant to start-up at any WVU sporting event. If you’re offended by it, I apologize but its part of the rivalry and a big part of the Backyard Brawl. It’s also far better than the terms that Pitt fans use to describe the Mountaineers.

Tailgating with the Mountaineers is like making a bunch of new friends. It’s not unheard of to wave anyone over and offer them a cold beer and something off the grill.  We might give you a hard time about your team but its all in fun.  The whole day leading up to the game is filled with music, games, and new friends.  This happens regardless of the weather. I’ve been out there tailgating in the frigid snowstorms or even in huge downpours.  Regardless of the weather the WVU fans are there.

There is also a new tradition that has been started before the game kicks off. This tradition, the Mountaineer Mantrip, was devised by new Head Coach Dana Holgorsen.  The team is dropped off down the street from the stadium and walks through the crowd to enter Mountaineer Field.  Upon entering Mountaineer Field, they pass a 350 pound chunk of coal. This done in part to fire up the team and to pay homage to the coal mining that plays a huge part in supporting the state of West Virginia. This is very similar to traditions that other colleges have.

Coach Dana Holgorsen on the Mantrip

As we approach kickoff the stands begin to fill up until it’s a veritable sea of blue and gold. Before the game starts the Pride of West Virginia, the Mountaineer Marching Band, takes the field.  The band is one of the highlights of the pregame festivities. They truly live up to their name as the Pride of West Virginia. There are two iconic moments where the band forms the shape of the flying WV, the logo associated with WVU, and also the outline of the state of West Virginia. This is all done while marching in formation.  It really is an awesome sight to see.

The Pride of West Virginia

It goes without saying that the game is always a spectacle in and off itself. That was especially true this year with what is possibly the last Backyard Brawl for a few years.  As a result of conference realignment the Brawl could go on hiatus for a while. This pending break in the rivalry really added to the atmosphere this year. I have mentioned before that Pitt is one of WVU’s biggest rivalries and that adds to the intensity of the game.  The players are extra fired up and so are the fans.  Mountaineer Field was a madhouse. Throughout the game you could hear chants of “Let’s Go Mountaineers” and of course “Eat S**t Pitt.”  The fans were incredibly fired up to start the game and even more so as everything was wrapping up. Without giving a play be play recap of the game I will say that in the end WVU came back from a deficit to beat Pitt.  The final score was 21-20 and Mountaineer Field went insane at the end.

At the end of a WVU home game the song Country Roads, by John Denver, is played over the PA system. The fans link arm in arm and sing along. After big games it isn’t unheard of for nobody to leave the stadium until after the first playing of Country Roads. Sometimes nobody leaves until at least a few airings of the song have been played.  This game was no different as the loyal Mountaineer fans didn’t want to live. Instead they wanted to bask in victory over the hated rivals from Pittsburgh.

I’ve got a copy of the fans singing Country Roads at the end of the Backyard Brawl. Pay no attention the guy singing along he has no singing voice and may or may not be me.

Gameday in Morgantown is truly an incredible experience. One that I don’t think I can fully encapsulate in a blog post. I hope that I have been able to convey just a little bit of how much of a good time gameday is. It’s an experience I treasure each time as I get to meet with all my old friends and then make new friends. If you ever get the chance to come out to a Mountaineer game I strongly encourage it. I’ll be out there in the sea of Blue and Gold!

Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving is quite possibly one of my favorite holidays, second only to Halloween. But what is it that makes Thanksgiving so much fun?  I’m sure there are a lot of traditions that people enjoy during the ‘Turkey Day’ holiday, but here’s a few of mine.

Firstly, it has to be Thanksgiving dinner. There’s just something wonderful about sitting down with your family to have a large meal and give thanks for everything that has occurred throughout the year. This is the one time a year where I have some of my favorite foods too like sweet potatoes with marshmallows or green bean casserole.  It just doesn’t feel right to eat those foods at other times of the year.

Thanksgiving Day parades are a tradition that I think everyone can be interested in. I’m not the biggest fan of all the musical numbers, but the floats and giant balloons always get me excited. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade always lends itself to some spectacular sights and sounds and watching the parade in the morning has definitely become part of my Thanksgiving traditions.

One of my Favorite Balloons

Another great part of Thanksgiving is watching football while the tryptophan kicks in. Yes I know it’s an old wives tale that Thanksgiving turkey makes you sleepy, but I do believe it.  Whether you watch the NFL while the meal is cooking or after you’ve finished there is just something fun about watching the game. Traditionally both the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions host games on Thanksgiving Day and recently the NFL has added a third game to the slate. Three football games, while there is nothing else on TV. And luckily this year all of the games were good. I was especially interested in the games hosted by the Lions… but that was mostly because my favorite team the Green Bay Packers were playing and the ended up winning.  That made for a great Thanksgiving Day!

This is going to sound kind of cheesy but one of my other favorite parts of Thanksgiving Day is that it is generally the start of all the James Bond movie marathons or ‘Bondathons’. A British secret agent is probably something fairly strange to be associated with an American holiday but over the years that’s what has happened.  If a football game is bad or just boring I’ll go check in with my good friend 007 and see what crazy adventure he is up to. Regardless of your preference in Bonds, be it Sean Connery, Roger Moore, or even Daniel Craig, you’re sure to find a Bond movie to your liking on Thanksgiving Day! For me Sean Connery is the ultimate James Bond and it seems that all the Connery Bond films are played a lot during the marathons.

Who Doesn't Love a Good Bond Movie?

But that’s enough about my traditions. Feel free to leave some of your traditions in the comments below. I think it could be very interesting to see what everyone else does for this holiday.