“Help! I can’t think of anything to write about!”
I get an email like this at least once a week.
My circle of friends is full of writers and bloggers and we all know the familiar, cool panic of being under the gun with nothing to say.
As much as I’d like to recommend my absolutely favorite method of dealing with writer’s block: go on a week’s vacation to someplace fabulous while somebody cleans your house and stocks your fridge so that you can come back refreshed and ready to work, for most of us, that’s just not a possibility. Heck, I don’t even have somebody to nuke a bowl of soup for me so I can concentrate on my work.
Instead, I’ll share my real world tips for how to beat the block and just start writing.
1. As much as possible, I separate coming up with ideas from the actual writing bit. Coming up with ideas for articles/posts is heavy mental lifting! I find that the ideas flow more freely if I know that I don’t have to do anything with them right away.
In an ideal work week, I schedule some time on a Sunday or Monday to come up with topic ideas for all my client work, then do the actual writing on a different day.
Separating the two tasks has drastically cut down the amount of time I spend staring at the screen wishing I had something to say.
2. Stop checking email, Facebook, Twitter and other sites. You’re not getting inspiration, you’re stalling. Start a new document in whatever word processing program you use, then start typing whatever comes into your mind.
It’s not going to be pretty or organized, but it will get your mind focused on writing and into a state of flow.
3. Find out your most mentally alert time of day and try like hell to arrange to write then. It’s not always easy; I’m a morning person but I also have five children that need to be fed, dressed and taken to school.
The only solution I’ve found that works is to wake up at 4.30-5.00 every morning so I get a couple of hours of productive time to write before I become mentally fatigued. Building on tip number 2, I’ve found that if I don’t do my writing first when I sit down, it becomes far harder to focus and concentrate as my mind becomes too crowded with information.
4. Feed your brain and spirit. It’s easy to get caught in a rut of sitting in front of screens and thinking that’s enough interaction with the world. The Internet is an amazing source of knowledge and, but it’s not enough to sustain my creativity and motivation.
Get out into the world and try new things. Talk to new people. Learn new skills. Read great books and listen to lots of music. You’ll find each experience whets your appetite and zest for life, which in turn will give you the inspiration and energy to write.
5. Think of all the reasons you want to write, not all the reasons you should or need to. Reminding yourself over and over again of why you have to do something is a recipe for resistance and feeling constantly stressed.
While most of us can and do somehow push ourselves to meet a deadline if we wait until the last minute and force ourselves to come up with something, it’s often at the cost of feeling stressed and queasy for days. We’re not working, but we’re not exactly relaxing and enjoying it, either!
Worse, the more you do this, the more you’ll start thinking you can only be motivated to act by external pressures and forget the reasons why we were drawn to this work in the first place.
When you remember why you want to write, it gives you a sense of purpose and source of motivation. Don’t worry if your motivation doesn’t seem lofty enough! The thing that matters is that it is important to you.
For example, while I do want to write because I enjoy being creative and helping people through my articles, I am motivated to work and keep clients because it allows me the flexibility to raise a large family while bringing in income. Remembering this is empowering and allows me to get over feelings of resistance or resentment that can come when you start thinking “Oh no, I HAVE to write now”.
Writer’s block can seem overwhelming, but the reality is, it’s not all that different from any other time you’ve just not felt like doing something. Don’t let it become a bigger problem than it really is and paralyze you.
Do you experience frequent writer’s block? What are some of your best tips for getting over it?
PS If these tips don’t work for you, you can always try my other method for getting over writer’s block.
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Tracy O’Connor is a phenomenal ghostwriter and potty training specialist. You can (and should) follow her on Twitter.
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About Tracy
From few days I’m not getting any mood to start writing. I think its because lack of motivation :(