Tag / writer’s block

by Ricardo Sanchez

Writer’s block influenced by bilingual ability. Really.

I can’t decide about writing my blog posts in Spanish or English, and it is blocking my ability to write. It is also affecting the development of an app since I can’t decide what language to use. I read in English, rationalize in Spanish, and then write in English for the most part.

Multilingual friends, has that ever happened to you? I know about writer’s block, but I haven’t heard anything yet about feeling blocked due to not knowing what language to use. Choosing a language for your writing is essential; it has many ramifications as it will affect who you reach and your target audience. For me, it is a constant tug of war between the two languages when it comes to writing.

When I started writing blog posts, I used English, and it was in part to help me get familiar with the language, to learn it better. It also made sense as all the learning and experience I was getting as a new software developer was from other blogs written in English.

I have some experience now and have more time and things to share with others, but I also feel the need to do it in my native language, Spanish. And so here I am, unable to make this decision. I’ve tried a couple of things, for example, I started a new blog in Spanish but after a little while it was just too much work. I have also tried writing posts written in both languages, and again, it is too much work; the phase is hard to sustain.

I need to get over it it is what I tell myself constantly. For now, I will continue to write in English since most of my audience are English speakers. Someone suggested the following idea:

What if you write a post in Spanish per N English posts?

I might just try that.

A todos los techies que hablan Espanol, si tienes preguntas por favor dejame saber, aqui estoy para ayudar en lo que pueda. Cheers.

by Ricardo Sanchez

How To Drive Traffic To Your Blog and Avoid Writer’s Block

Writing is not easy and there is always room for improvement. Attracting an audience is also hard and it takes time. Here are some of the things that have worked for me in the past few years, I hope they can be useful for you too.

  1. Focus on longform articles. People are starting to get overwhelmed with the shortform content abundant in social media. Finding well-written long-form articles is becoming a rarity and so it is becoming scarce and thus valuable.
  2. Use tools to improve your writing. Applications like the Hemingway Editor can help your writing to be more readable. Grammar and spell-checking only go so far, you want your posts to be easy to read and understand.
  3. Write about topics that can stand the test of time. Your posts should be relevant today and 5 years from now. Avoid writing about the hot/popular topics of the day. Also, if your blog platform and/or theme allows it, remove the date from your posts and URLs.
  4. Write for you and not an audience. If what you write is good for you, it will be for other people. This is also a great way to get over writer’s block. Most of my blog posts are a way for me to learn and remember what I’ve learned. Reading and taking notes about specific items you find interesting can also give you an abundant source of things to write about.
  5. Take part in popular blogs and websites by adding smart comments and points of view. Make sure your blog address is part of your profile. People do notice when someone has smart things to say or unique point of views. And, they’ll want to know more about you and your own writing as well.

Hope this is useful to you. If you like this article please subscribe to my newsletter and share it with your friends.