If you can’t sit down and write whenever you want to, it will be extremely difficult for you to connect with your list. Writer’s block is something we don’t hear about very often any longer. Twenty years ago, when I wanted to pursue a career as a professional writer, I found it difficult to sit down and write. After a short time, I believed that I was suffering from writer’s block and would always have this problem. Now that I write daily and have developed an online business based almost exclusively on my writing, I can honestly say that I am never at a loss for something to write about.
What’s the difference between what I do now and what I did long ago? I believe it is based on the fact that I am now writing on topics I know something about, can choose the time of day I write, and that I continue to repurpose my writing on a regular basis.
You can think about this in a number of ways. If someone asks me to write about something I am not interested in or do not know much about, the writing becomes a chore. I often write articles for my students, and typically I am not very knowledgeable about their topic. For instance, I wrote about making soy candles recently, and this was a tedious task for me to complete. I had to do some research to learn something about this topic, and then I had to write something that would be interesting to the people who would read it. When I write about my interests it goes very quickly and is something I look forward to doing.
I have also discovered that I do much better when I write early in the morning. I write down my ideas the day before, and when I wake up and sit down to write, I can bring those ideas to life. It also makes me feel like I have accomplished something early in the day before I must take care of other areas of my life.
Repurpose everything. This means that nearly everything I write will be used for another purpose. I turn every idea into articles, short reports, blog posts, teleseminars, forum posts, and content for my membership sites. This way you get two or three times as much content from just one piece of writing.
Find out what time of day is best for you to be most productive. Write about the topics you know and are interested in. Repurpose everything you write into at least one other format. This will ensure that you never have to deal with having writer’s block.
You are so right that it’s much easier to write about things you know rather than things you have to research.
I know I need to get better at repurposing. But I just need to get in the habit of writing. I have found that dictating using Dragon Naturally speaking is working better —- however, (there’s always a ‘but’ right) is that then I have to back and edit them and I am exceptionally good at procrastinating on that.
thanks again for pointing us in the right direction.
Terrie
Great advice. Especially about having to write on a topic you are not interested in, and knowing you will make very little money doing it. When writing about a present and past event in your life, or something you have an interest in, it feels fun and energizing to share.
Doing it early in the morning propels you into the rest of the day knowing you accomplished something meaningful.
I agree that writing about a topic I already know, really makes the article flow so much easier. I believe it is because I feel authentic and real because I am using my true voice and not just getting the word count to 300. I can usually come up with s “story” about the topic because I actually may have lived a piece of the article.
Yes, time of day can make a big difference in your ability to write. I’ve also found that other environmental conditions, such as location, noise level and activity level affect the ability to write and work on other products that require creative energy.
I suggest that people write down the time of day, location, etc. after they have a great writing experience. Look for trends in these experiences – is morning best? Is a quiet environment best or does noise and activity (such as a coffee shop) stir up your ability to write. Every person is different, so we each need to find what works best for ourselves.
Discussions about writer’s block are important to the process. Some
people prefer to record their ideas and then have them transcribed,
because we never seem to suffer from speaker’s block!
Connie
You make some great points here, George. I like to read something on my topic
and then immediately write my own article or blog post. That way I trick my
brain into producing new ideas!
Connie