Note – We are now on the third and last installment of our “Tried And Tested Tips to Get Rid of the Writer’s Block” series. If you haven’t read the previous guides yet, you can read them using these links: Part 1, Part 2.
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What’s next? Are you still struggling with the writer’s block?
8. Use a template
I love this technique!
This method is so effective since it doesn’t rely on you feeling motivated, or your creative juice flowing. Regardless of whether you are “in the zone” or not, you’ll be able to put words on paper — meaningful words at that!
As you can probably imagine, writers have varying templates that they can use depending on how they want their articles to flow. This one, however, is my favorite…
Title
Intro
– Pain points that the readers can relate.
– Data/statistics that validates the pain points that I mentioned.
– Comforting the readers by telling them that I have the solution.
– Transition to the subheading
Subheading 1
– What it’s all about
– Data/statistics or quote from an authority in the industry
– A short story to solidify my point.
– Why this idea is important.
– What the readers need to think about
Subheading 2
– What it’s all about
– Data/statistics or quote from an authority in the industry
– A short story to solidify my point.
– Why this idea is important.
– What the readers need to think about
Subheading 3
– What it’s all about
– Data/statistics or quote from an authority in the industry
– A short story to solidify my point.
– Why this idea is important.
– What the readers need to think about
Closing paragraph
– My conclusion based on the points that I shared.
– Call-to-action
* Note – you can add as many subheadings as you need.
When you have a template like this, everything becomes pretty straightforward. You just need to answer what is being asked on each point, then you’ll end up with a write-up that’s relatable (because of the story), credible (because of the statistics), thought provoking, and value-packed.
9. Word vomit.
The goal of this technique isn’t to put “real” or “meaningful” words on paper — since you’ll probably end up deleting 80% of what you’ll write — it is meant to get your creative juice flowing.
The game plan is to write anything that comes to your mind about the topic, no matter how shallow, useless, or cookie-cutter your ideas are. You just need to keep on writing no matter what. Heck, you can even write about how you think your cousin Ray Ray would react to it.
As you keep on typing in the words, you’ll soon notice that you’re slowly getting “in the zone” and your typing in words that provide real value to your readers.
From there, you just need to ride the wave of motivation and continue typing till you finish your write-up.
* Note – as I’ve mentioned above, the whole point of this strategy is to get your creative juice flowing. That being said, DO NOT edit or proofread as you write since it can easily kill whatever creative juice you’ve had flowing.
10. The 5 minutes approach.
Sometimes, what causes writers to experience the writer’s block is their being overwhelmed with the project that they need to work on.
It could be because of the write-up’s length, perhaps they aren’t familiar with the topic, or sometimes, they are keen on pleasing their clients so much, yet they aren’t certain if the client will even like the quality of their work.
Sounds familiar? Well, you are not alone.
I have struggled with this issue myself, and it has caused me to become paralyzed and unable to write for days (sometimes even weeks) countless of times.
It was when I heard a podcast that I learned about the 5 minute approach.
I forgot which podcast I heard it from, but I can remember that the podcast wasn’t about writing, it was mainly about productivity and conquering your BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals).
So the game plan is, instead of thinking about “I need to complete this project right now” you just need to think about working on your project for 5 minutes.
Yup. You read it right. Just 5 minutes.
Considering how short 5 minutes is, it makes it easier for you to start working on the task. Of course, when your time is up, there is a chance that you can still continue working since you aren’t exhausted yet. Just continue writing for as long as you can without compromising the quality of your work.
As you can probably imagine, because your mind is only set to working for 5 mins, you’ll barely feel overwhelmed when thinking about working on the project. This frees your mind which then helps your creative juice flow.
11. Nag
When you’re experiencing the writer’s block, you tend to become frustrated because of how unproductive you feel.
When you have all of these pent up frustrations inside you, it’s going to become harder for you to think clearly and be able to put words on paper.
How do you get rid of these frustrations, you might ask?
Nag.
Just hack away on your keyboard writing about how frustrated you are.
This one is a bit different from the Word Vomit technique since when nagging, you aren’t necessarily talking about the topic. You’ll just write about how you feel until you’ve loosened up and are ready to write.
When I’m using this strategy, I end up writing things like, “Why on earth can’t I write anything? I’ve been staring at the screen for 3 hours and still not a single sentence…”
At this point, I just keep going at it until I get inspiration or I feel that I’m ready to start really writing — this usually happens when I reach the 200 – 300 word mark.
What’s next? Are you still struggling with the writer’s block?
What are your thoughts about the tips that I shared in this series? Which tip helped you the most in terms of conquering the writer’s block, and being more productive in writing? Are there additional ideas that you’d like to share when it comes to helping others when experiencing the writer’s block?
Please add your answers in the comments section below.
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Jimmy Rodela
Jimmy Rodela is a contributor on websites with millions of monthly traffic like Yahoo.com, Business.com, Monster.com, Business2Community and SocialMediaToday.com. He is a trainer at www.Guruface.com that specializes in topics about earning money online and digital marketing. He is the Founder of the Guild of Bloggers. Follow him on: Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Read more about me