Writer’s block! It’s that horrible time when you’re in front of your keyboard (or your paper for the old-school folks) and you cannot come up with anything to write about. Luckily, there are many different strategies that you can use to come up with a new topic and get your juices flowing again!

1) Brainstorm- I know that you have been for the past hour, but if you keep at it you may finally come up with that idea you’ve been looking for! Of course, there are some other ways that can be more helpful when your mind is as blank as it is now.

2) Take a quick break- Go out to eat, watch one of your favorite TV shows, call your mom, just do something different. Right when you least expect it, a magnificent idea will pop into your brain and you’ll be wondering where it’s been this whole time.

3) Browse some websites or forums relating to your topic- Obviously you don’t want to completely copy another article, but with 2 billion people on the internet, there’s a very good chance that one of them came up with an idea that you didn’t think of. You could take their idea and expand on it, or offer a different perspective on the topic.

4) Just start writing something- Have you ever started writing an article and halfway through you have a new idea that you want to use for your next article? Try it. It doesn’t even matter what you write about to begin with. Maybe you’ll start writing about your new puppy, and end up writing about the best ways you’ve found to prevent fleas.

5) Keyword research- The alphabet soup technique works very well when it comes to finding new material. It’s surprising, and often times very humorous, what people will search for on the internet.

6) Create a document for ideas- This may not help your current writers block, but it will come in handy in the future. Every time you come up with a new idea, write it down somewhere. I would suggest in a notepad app on your phone. You probably have it with you almost everywhere you go, so it’s a very convenient place to keep all your article ideas.

7) Take a nap- Maybe your brain is just too tired to come up with ideas at the moment. If you are one of those people who does nothing but work, than there’s a good chance of that. Take a nap, and refresh your mind. You’ll be amazed how much easier it will be when you wake up.