5 Ways to Overcome Writer's Block Especially #5

Every person who has ever tried to put words to paper has encountered writers block.  Over the last week I have been on social media platforms asking writers how they tackle this time wasting phenomenon.  What I have accumulated are 5 tactics to battle writers block and to help you become a more productive writer.  Is this the magical cure to writers block?  HELL NO, as much as I wish it was my hope is that these tactics will help you or get you thinking of any tactic that will turn you into a productive writing machine.

1      Write First Thing in the Morning WITH COFFEE

Getting right to business first thing in the morning is my key to a productive day.  My mind is fresh and focused.  Most of the time I will have gone to bed the night before thinking of the work I have to get done in the morning.  This kind of pumps me up when I start my day.  My most productive writing days are when I start writing before I even have breakfast.  I do have my COFFEE though.  My hot cup of Foldgers gives me that buzz and edge to drive into my writing process and stay focused.  Getting started on my writing before breakfast allows my meal to be the perfect break time.

2      Carry a Notebook with you at ALL TIMES

This tactic came from a lot of the writers I talked to on social media and I completely agree with it!  Your mind seems to be more creative and think on its own when you are free from intense thought (which you are in while you are writing).  Ideas will come to you while you are at the lake with your dog or even while lying in bed trying to fall asleep.  Carry a notebook and pen with you to capture those ideas.  The great ideas will come and go very fast.  Without that notebook you will lose them and they might not come back.

Advice: Try to avoid this tactic while on walks with your girlfriend or wife, it will save you a pissed off conversation.  Remember they want the focus!

3      Search Your Topic on Google Images

This tactic sounds a little goofy, but there are times when I swear by it.  I started doing this one day when I became unfocused on my writing and couldn’t finish one of my articles.  I started surfing the web and ended up searching the topic I was writing about on Google images.  The variety of so many different images on my topic inspired me.  I believe it was having visuals of something relevant to what I was writing about that triggered my mind and then everything clicked.  I use this tactic now when I find myself trying to surf the internet, instead of writing.  This helps me turn an unproductive activity into something that is usually productive and worthwhile.  Try this for yourself and see if it helps.  I am really curious if it others can benefit from this.

4      Read About Your Topic (Web 2.0 Research)

Many writers would consider this topic to fall under research.  In many ways it can, but I want to include something that is not considered traditional research.  Reading about your topic is a great way to get inspired when you are having trouble turning your thoughts into writing.  I do this all the time when I get hung up in the middle of an article.  Lately I have been searching for different blogs on the topic I am writing about (hence the name Web 2.0 Research).  Reading other people’s blog posts on similar topics gives you a refreshing insight unlike many results you would get doing traditional research.  In today’s world many people use this tactic for a lot of their initial research before writing even begins.  The best way to do this is to use google.com/blogsearch.  This search engine focuses mainly on blogs that fit the topic you search for.  Give this a try and see if it sparks enough thought to overcome your writers block.

5      Never Go Into a Writing Session without Ammunition

For many people reading this post writing is your JOB!  If you go into a job unprepared you have a better chance to fail.  This goes hand in hand with fighting writers block.  If you wake up and decide today that you better do a little bit of writing because you have a deadline coming up, chances are you will struggle.  The main reason being that you did not prepare yourself.  The simplest way to do this is to plan your writing days out.  A great example of this is writing articles for Infobarrel.  For someone who is trying to make a decent income writing for Infobarrel, they should be writing 3-5 articles a day.  If you do not plan your day out with topics to write about and research, half of your day will be filled with writers block and frustration.  Plan out your days and set goals of what you want to accomplish with your writing.  Writers block will not disappear, but the hope is that being prepared will minimize it.

Thank you for reading this post.  I hope you found some of these tactics helpful! Post is originally from WWW.infobarrelwritingstrategies.com