Shauna Moerke is…

I’ve been writing this blog for almost two years now, and one of the most interesting and elusive aspects of it has been inspiration for posts. Some days something crazy happens and the post writes itself. Other days a song lyric, a TV show, or a conversation with a friend will get the juices of creativity flowing. And then there are the icky days when I feel uninspired, lacking in creativity, and humorless, and the ideas don’t flow. This morning I woke up with the goal of making sure I got a post up right away. Now, it’s early evening, and I find my thoughts turning more inward and reflective, rather than tackling some kind of crazy HR story or issue. Maybe it’s because I have a headache or maybe I just need to get outside. Maybe I need a drink. Whatever the reason, the Muse of blogging isn’t taking my calls.

I’m certainly not the only blogger who goes through this, though some have anti-writing demons, not Muses. The best thing for me to do is not force it. However, the worst thing to do is to give up. Don’t you love a good contradiction? And yet, after two years, I’ve found it works. I couldn’t force the HR post I wanted to write, so I just let the ideas flow out and, lo and behold, a post was formed. Not what I planned or hoped for; more self-reflective than HR, but hopefully still relevant and interesting. For me, I can’t beat the Muse into submission, but I can get out of its way. Probably one of the best things I have learned from blogging is that I need to let the stuff in my life inspire my writing instead of stifling it. I have a lot of big changes coming up in my life and it is making me more self-reflective, as my recent posts probably demonstrate. But don’t worry, I’ll be back soon with all the HR geeky goodness you have come to expect from me. Just as long as the Muse doesn’t start blocking my calls.