Questions

Wannabe writers, are full of excuses as to why they aren’t writing yet. Many of these excuses can be changed to proactive statements with a mere switch in attitude and perspective.

How many times have you read an article, and said to yourself, “I could have written this.” Well, why don’t you?

It took me a long time to discover that my passion in life was writing. Even though, as a teenager, I filled a whole blank book with poetry, which I wrote while trying to recover from the “first love’s” broken heart type of feelings.

It wasn’t until I made it a habit to start writing in my journal every morning, that I found out just how easy it was to get the writing juices flowing. Below is a list of some common excuses writer wannabe’s make for not writing. You will find suggestions along with each excuse on how to counteract those excuses and move forward to success.

1. EXCUSE #1 I don’t know where to start, or what to write about.

—Just get up each morning a few minutes earlier than the rest of the household, and start writing in a journal. Write about anything and everything that pops into your mind. Try to write at least 3 or 4 pages. Devote at least 10 minutes each morning to this ritual.

Do it with a pen and notebook, rather than the computer. There is a physical connection between the brain and your fingers on the paper.

Keep your statements positive. Try to eliminate words like, “I need to” or “I should” or “I have to” replacing them with more affirming phrases. Using “I am” and “I can” changes your whole focus. I find just replacing the three phrases above makes the writing process much more positive and results oriented.

You will be amazed at the material that you can pull from this journal that can be used in your daily projects.

2. EXCUSE #2 I don’t have any experience or formal schooling in writing.

—-With the internet, and all the writing books available today, it is easy to teach yourself what it takes to write successfully. Just jump in and get your feet wet, give it a try.

Have someone you trust read over your writing, and then give you their opinion. But don’t stop with one person’s point of view.

Some of the best feedback I have received, has come from people wanting to use my “free to reprint” articles. I remember one lady email me saying, “I really enjoyed reading the passionate article you wrote on this subject.” Up to that point, I had never looked at my writing as passionate.

3. EXCUSE #3 I don’t have enough confidence in my writing abilities, I can’t measure up to what is already out there.

—-Following the same advice as above, as you jump in and do it, your confidence will grow. Publish some free content articles, to promote a website, and discover just what people like and don’t like. With feedback comes confidence. It is hard not be confident in your writing abilities when you get showered with requests to use your articles in others ezine’s and on their websites. :o)

4. EXCUSE #4 Writing will take too much time away from my family and other responsibilities.

—-On the contrary. Writing can actually benefit and help you with your other responsibilities. By establishing a morning routine of writing in your journal, you will get to know yourself better, and grow both in professional and personal development. These positive changes to you will affect everyone you come into contact during the rest of your day. This includes members of your family.

5. EXCUSE #5 I am not very creative.

—-Everyone has creativity in them. Some people have a harder time tapping into it than others. By creating a time and space for writing in your life, you are giving yourself permission to tap into your own creative subconscious resources and intelligence. You may be surprised and amazed at your own creative results.

6. EXCUSE #6 What I know has already been written.

—-Did you know, you could give 5 writers an assignment on the same subject and each one of them will come back with an article with a very unique and different focus. It is because we all look at things from different perspectives. Our perspectives are developed by our own individual life experiences and the lessons we have learned. You can take what is out there and put your own unique slant on it.

7. EXCUSE #7 I am scared, not sure I can handle criticism and rejection.

—-As mentioned already, by just doing it, jumping in and giving it a try, you will gain confidence and grow. Rejection is just someone’s opinion. Get another opinion, and then another.

Some of the best books published in history were rejected dozens of times before someone took a chance on them and would eventually hit the New York Times bestseller’s list.

So there you have it. Stop making excuses and jump in the water and get wet. It will be more fun, rewarding and maybe even profitable for you once you actually take some daily action steps. Who knows, you might even make a big splash upon entrance to the pool of what’s floating around. . :o)

As you begin getting your work out there, ideas will come to you so quickly it may be overwhelming at times. Just remember to write down your ideas, keeping notes on topic ideas, titles, and themes to research. The list will be endless.

Use these intuitive thoughts to spark your thought process when you actually sit down with pen to paper. You will find many stories, experiences, and lessons learned that can easily be incorporated into a promotional article. “So start writing now, may the force of your creativity be with you!”


- Dolly Kapil

For some, writing effectively is as simple of a task as breathing. For others, writing is like a car that keeps stalling and really doesn’t ever seem to get going smoothly. Have you ever wished that you could improve your writing skills? If your writing is more like the stalled automobile, don’t let that stop you. You can improve your writing skills just by using the following tips.

Do a quick reminder course about nouns, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions and prepositions. If you want to write well, it’s important to know what they are and how to use them properly. When you write using proper spelling and grammar it can make a difference in your perceived credibility as a writer. It is true of all of us, we get turned off to what we are reading if the author has made an obvious writing mistake. Make it a habit to confidently write. If needed, use a spell checker when you can and when in doubt: look it up.

This may sound backwards, but to be a good writer, you need to be a good reader. Try to read something everyday. Expand your knowledge by reading different types of writing. If you are primarily a fiction reader, start reading the newspaper or non-fiction books. Read articles online versus magazine articles and see if you notice the differences in writing styles. If you happen to read something that you really enjoy, study the article or story. Use the tips you find to improve your own writing. On the other hand, when you read something you don’t care for, make mental notes of the mistakes the writer made and try to avoid them when you sit down to write. By all means give yourself permission to break the rules provided it provides impact to your writing.

Just like any skill, practice is what makes the difference between novice and pro. Writing something everyday, even something as short as a few sentences can improve your writing over time. There are many websites targeted to writers that offer daily writing exercises. For example, they may ask you to write the opening paragraph of a action story one day and the next day they could ask you to write a “how-to paragraph” about butter churning. Experimenting with different writing genres will greatly improve your writing style.

Keep what you write and review it every once in awhile. You will see how your abilities have changed with practice. As your skill and confidence grow, you will find that writing becomes easier and more enjoyable.


- Robert Paul Williams

Forget about inspiration. You don’t need inspiration to write. Have you ever had a job? You didn’t wait for inspiration before you drove to work, did you? Of course not, that’s a certain ticket to complete and prolonged unemployment. Inspiration is a losing strategy. Don’t use it for your writing.

Make your habits work for you. Have you ever started driving and ended up heading toward your workplace without meaning to? Habits are powerful. Habits allow you to do something with consciously deciding to do it; you do it on autopilot. You don’t want to have a decision to write every single day, so set up a habit. I write every evening when I come home from work. I don’t have to think, “Will I write today?” I just do it.

Use a timer. I decided to write every day after work for half an hour. Sometimes I’m tired - I often work twelve-hour days. When I’m tired I set a timer for 30 minutes. I write until the timer goes off, then I go to bed. If you feel scared or anxious about writing, the timer will help, too. When you’re scared of an activity, it’s good to know it’s not open-ended.

Forget about creating a “special” and “sacred” place to write. You don’t need it. You just need your brain and some sort of writing stick. You can write anywhere. Sure, set up a place where you’ll write as part of your routine, but don’t get sidetracked trying to add magic juju to the area. Cut the crap and write.

Know that writing is writing. It’s not researching, or thinking about writing, or reading books about writing, or promising yourself you’re going to write, or making excuses for not writing. It’s writing. Pen to paper, fingers to keyboard. Decide when and for how long you’ll do it every day, and do it.

Happily write crap. Don’t put off writing because you’re afraid golden prose won’t flow from your pen. Just write. It’s like anything, you’ll get better the more you do it. And you know your writing won’t really be crap, and that as good as it is, it will improve. In any case, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be done.



Forget about having a talent for writing. Do you have a talent for sticking with a plan? How about a talent for reading books and learning about a craft? A talent for training and learning and improving? Develop those talents and you’ll discover you’ve also got a talent for writing.

Hypnosis. Still having problems? Do you think your writer’s block has neurotic roots that you’ll have to work through before you’ll be able to write? Forget that. You can be neurotic and still write. Maybe it’ll even help. Quick solution: get hypnosis. Quick free solution: find a hypnosis school where you can be a guinea pig and get hypnotized in front of the class for free. ‘Worked for me.

The fool-proof method: And now the final, fool proof method for severely resistant cases of writer’s block. Set up an area where you would someday like to be writing. Set up the time when you want to be writing. Don’t be worried, you don’t have to write. Everything set up? Got the timer ready? Okay, now, every day, at the appointed hour and at the appointed place, read this article over and over until the timer goes off. Continue this routine until you prefer writing to rereading this article. Your writer’s block will probably fade forever before you get to the second paragraph.


- Jason Comely

Writers sometimes develop poor habits, and end up doing more thinking about writing than actual writing. I know, because although I write for a living, and I still don’t always spend enough time on the writing that I most want to do. And for those people who aren’t writers by trade, but need or want to write for professional or business reasons, then you may need a little help developing your writing habit.

The following simple steps can help you write more often and with better results.

1. Write Every Day

Developing a habit means doing something regularly. Therefore you should do your best to find time to write every day. It doesn’t have to be a long period of time, even fifteen minutes will do if that’s all you can spare. The key is to practice every day!

2. Set Manageable Writing Goals

Books are written one sentence at a time, so don’t fall into the trap of only sitting down to write when you have several hours at a time to devote to your work. Even if you only have time to put down a paragraph, that’s progress.

3. Don’t Stress About Writing

When you over-think your writing projects, they can seem bigger and more important . . . and much more intimidating than they really should be. Just sit down and write; don’t make a big deal out of it. The true beauty of a manuscript doesn’t appear until a few revisions, anyways. Just put your words on paper.

4. When You’re Writing, Write Without Your Inner Critic

Another part of letting loose and approaching writing with confidence is allowing yourself to write terrible sentences and paragraphs just to put something on the page and get through blocks. Don’t rework sentences until you’ve completed an entire draft—it will only slow you down and make writing more difficult.

5. Get Feedback on Your Writing

At some point, you have to start sharing what you’re working on with people who can provide encouragement and insight into how to improve. Try to aim for a balance of supporters, like best friends and parents, with professional opinions, which won’t always be as easy to swallow as a big cheer from mom.

Anyone who wants to write can do it. Discipline is the key, and catching the writing habit doesn’t hurt, either. With these tips, you can write better and faster than you ever imagined.


- Melinda Copp

Does anyone have any advice about getting over writers block? Any writing techniques to get me back in the habit of writing again? Lately I haven’t been wanting to write, because I keep having trouble about getting my ideas on the paper. I have them thought out in my head, but when I try to write them I come to a blank.

I’m good at getting my own ideas for plots and everything, it’s just the actual constructing part thats been holding me back. It’s sucks for me, because I used to be able to write all the time, now nothing just feels good enough and I keep wanting to start over.
- Silent

Often when we get blocked it is because we need to write on a particular subject or for a particular assignment, and we may be feeling stressed about doing a good job. Try writing about anything else continuously for ten minutes or longer. Write something you plan to throw away or delete. This will get you started at writing, and you can gradually begin writing about your intended subject or assignment.

Sometimes we get stuck coming up with an idea for what to write about. This is understandable. There is a solution, however. Instead of coming up with a good idea for your topic, come up with twenty ideas that may or may not have any merit. Just rattle off possibilities. By coming up with twenty instead of one, you have no expectation for all of them to be good. After, you can choose the best among your selection.

Instead of your usual outline, try phrasing your jumping off points as questions. Just as in journalism, who, what, when, where, why, and how questions can lead you to what to write. It is easier to write a paragraph or a page in answer to a question than it is to write in response to a heading, so questions make wonderful outlines.

Imagine writing or talking to a particular person about your subject. Picture them as someone who isn’t intimidating to you, perhaps an old friend who knows nothing about your subject or who easily accepts what you do. You might even address an email to them and begin telling your story or writing about the subject to them.

Make it a habit to keep typing or writing without pauses. Resist stopping to research, reread, edit, or procrastinate. Facts can always be checked later, editing can be done later, and relaxation time will be more fun after you have gotten this done. Get something down first.

Always talk to yourself positively about writing. Think about what excites you or is interesting about the topic or story, and try to tell that to your audience.


- CD Mohatta