And this is OK. 

However, I know how frustrating it can be when you have put your heart and soul into a piece, and it doesn't quite work. The tone is wrong, the message doesn't sound right, or you find yourself going off on a tangent which isn't relevant to the intended message. 

There's a lot that can go wrong in a piece of writing. 

But there are also ways of pulling it back from the brink and breathing new life into it. 

1. Get over the block - When you have been struggling with a piece of writing, the thought of having to go back into it, and edit and rewrite can be off-putting, pretty much guaranteeing its place in the well of abandonment. But after stepping back for a while go back in with fresh eyes and a positive attitude. 
2. Plan  - Even if you have nearly finished the piece of writing, if it isn't working then you need to go back to the beginning. Who is the audience? What is the point of the piece? What are your sub-headings? How long should it be? What is the take away for the reader? Sometimes replanning from scratch can help you find what's missing. 
3. Change the angle - Perhaps the angle of the message is wrong and that's why it isn't working. Could a how-to guide be changed into a case study? Could a company anniversary be changed into a celebration of the staff? Coming at it from another angle could make all the difference to the finished piece. 
4. Give it to someone else - Sometimes you are simply too close to the work to be able to write objectively about it. Giving your piece to an editor/copywriter like Popple Services can provide the fresh pair of eyes you need. I have worked on a few of these unfinished, 'unworkable' projects and often I can see what is wrong straight away. One blog I was given was written in such a cynical, negative way that it wasn't having the intended impact, another was using so many clichés and  business jargon as to make the post unreadable.

Sometimes there is nothing wrong with the content you have written, other than the timing is wrong - perhaps it doesn't align with public feeling, or would be inappropriate in light of a recent news story. In cases like this the item can be put on a back burner and reworked at a later date. 

Whilst it is frustrating not to be able to work with something you have written the material may not be wasted. Perhaps the blog could be used instead as social media posts, or as background work for a later project. But always remember, that it's OK to bin something that isn't working. Every writer out there has dozens of unfinished articles, stories, blogs and even books (I have three unfinished books not including the one I am currently under contract for). 

Just chalk it up to experience. 

If you do have a blog or project that you can't seem to get right and you're not quite ready to spike just yet, drop me an email and we can see how it can be resuscitated.