One of the joys of blogging, is participating in blog trains, blog hops and prompt-based activities. Donning our thinking caps and being as creative as possible, is the best way to stand apart from other participants. When I first began blogging, I believed every blogger strived for this recognition of their creativity, but I soon realised that the blogging community is plagued with the problem of unoriginality.

8 out of 10 bloggers invariably interpret assigned prompts literally, resulting in similar versions of content. The same goes for sponsored material, with only slight variations from one blogger to the next. I know that it’s almost impossible to be completely original, with the excessive content and information available online. However, it’s possible to have a fresh angle on the same topic and offer something to your readers that others haven’t, as yet.

Here are some out-of-the-box solutions to help you stand out in an overly-saturated blogging community:

Explore the large gamut of creative writing

For prompt-based activities, I love to explore the numerous forms of creative writing. There are so many to choose from, including short stories, flash fiction, poetry, haiku, journal writing, works of fantasy, among others. The chances of sounding repetitive are minimal in creative forms, as the work has been created from your imagination, making it entirely unique!

Model your writer’s voice on someone else’s experiences

Creative writing is an easy way to stand out in a crowd, but it’s not for everyone. If you are an inveterate non-fiction writer, put yourself in someone’s else’s shoes and write the piece from their perspective. This makes your article factually correct, yet unique in voice and perspective. Choose the voice of a person that has a different station in life but similar thought process, for your content to be authentic.

Decide your topic and then sleep on it

If you’ve zeroed in on a topic which you’re really excited about, don’t start writing straight away. Draw a rough outline and then dwell on it for a couple of days. Thinking about the subject enables you to examine it from different perspectives and analyse why you want to write it. If you’re writing the piece simply because it’s easy, then it has definitely been done before!

Don’t read similar posts before writing your own

If you read other posts on similar topics, when you’re preparing to write your own piece, you’re bound to be swayed by what you read. It’s difficult to channel your inner creativity if you’re inadvertently influenced by the ideas of others. Hence, avoid reading articles on the same topic beforehand, and compare only after the publication of your post.

Be honest and relate your own experiences

Even if you disregard every point mentioned above, follow this advice to really stand out. Though experiences may be similar, the reactions to and expressions of those experiences, vary from person to person. Be honest and real, and your content will be exclusive to you. Further, sharing your own stories and life experiences allows you to connect with your readers.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of producing lazy and repetitive material, but in order to succeed, you must find ways to be original. This is one of the most important lessons I have learnt in my blogging journey thus far. The more unique your content, the more likely you are to attract a loyal readership and succeed in the long run.

I’d like to thank team Blogchatter for picking my article as a guest post entry and for giving us bloggers plenty of opportunities to flex our creative muscles.