Questions

Is time on your side? I’ve spoken to dozens of people who have told me about their great ideas for books but never followed through with a manuscript. There are plenty of excuses for why these could-have-been authors never were. However, lack of time is without a doubt the most common pretext. But time doesn’t have to be your enemy. Don’t sell yourself short. If you are focused on your task, you can achieve amazing thing in the flash.

I worked my way through college laboring away my nights at a local newspaper office. I began as a sports clerk. My job was to answer phone calls from area high school coaches and get enough details from their games to write a few short paragraphs for the following morning’s sports section. That frequently meant writing up 20-30 game summaries during the height of any given football season. In just a few short hours, I would summarize the evenings of hundreds of athletes and thousands of fans.

When I began writing my first book, I used many of the principals I learned writing game summaries to help me utilize my time wisely. Here are a few tips that may help your writing move along swiftly:



Don’t sweat it. Don’t try to make a masterpiece with every sentence you write. Focus on your basics. Who, what, when, where why and how. The most important thing is that you are getting your message across clearly.

Let someone else explain. If you’re writing nonfiction, use quotes from reliable sources to help push your message. If you’re writing fiction, ask a friend or family member to act out some dialogue with you while your tape recorder is running. You can transcribe the quotes later.

Alter or expand. If you can’t come up with the right words on the first try, write down the wrong words. Go back later and make changes.

Live with deadlines. If getting motivated is a problem for you, deadlines are critical to your project. If you’re unable to set your own deadlines, your publisher will be more than happy to help. If you’re not working with a publisher, ask a friend or family member to hold you accountable according to your timetable.



Time may seem to be your biggest hurdle, but doesn’t have to be. Even if you only have 30 minutes here or there, you can move your writing forward if you just stay focused. Once you sit down and start writing, you’ll be amazed at how quickly the chapters start falling together.


- Danny Stooksbury

So you want to publish articles and write letters for your niche but have no idea how to word things?

You want to learn how to effectively explain something or make a sale but can’t think clearly?

Even the best writers get something we like to refer to as “Writer’s Block”. Writer’s Block is the inability to effectively communicate thoughts into words or sentences due to the portrayal of the following characteristics:

1. Perfectionism. You must absolutely produce a

masterpiece of literature straight off in the first

draft. Otherwise, you qualify as a complete failure.

This is a common mistake among those with little experience. You want to be a great writer? All writers started somewhere; and they didn’t create a masterpiece on the first try (or else they’d STILL be working on it).

2. Editing instead of composing. There’s your

monkey-mind sitting on your shoulder, yelling as soon

as you type “I was born?,” no, not that, that’s wrong!

That’s stupid! Correct correct correct correct?

Over-thinking is easy to indulge in when you have not unleashed your inner-ability to type the flow of your thoughts. Compose first; edit later.

3. Self-consciousness. How can you think, let alone

write, when all you can manage to do is pry the

fingers of writer’s block away from your throat enough

so you can gasp in a few shallow breaths? You’re not

focusing on what you’re trying to write, you’re focusing

on those gnarly fingers around your windpipe.

Stop thinking about what other people will think. In fact, stop thinking about anything at all. Find something you love, learn it, and express yourself. Try it out!

4. Can’t get started. It’s always the first sentence

that’s the hardest. As writers, we all know how

EXTREMELY important the first sentence is. It must be

brilliant! It must be unique! It must hook your

readers from the start! There’s no way we can get

into writing the piece until we get past this

impossible first sentence.

Don’t try to impress or shock your audience. Just write your first sentence based on what you want to say first. Again, you can edit it later if it’s not catchy enough.

5. Shattered concentration. You’re cat is sick. You

suspect your mate is cheating on you. Your electricity

might be turned off any second. You have a crush on

the local UPS deliveryman. You have a dinner party

planned for your in-laws. You . . . Need I say more.

How can you possibly concentrate with all this mental

clutter?

If you can’t concentrate, don’t write. Come back later when the time is right. The important thing to remember is to get your thoughts on paper as soon as you have them. Carry sticky notes around or do whatever you need to do to remember your inspiration; but write when you “feel it” and don’t write when it feels forced.

6. Procrastination. It’s your favorite hobby. It’s

your soul mate. It?s the reason you’ve knitted 60

argyle sweaters or made 300 bookcases in your garage

workshop. It’s the reason you never run out of Brie.

If you have to procrastinate then maybe you aren’t even into what you supposedly want to write in the first place. I’m talking about business in these articles, not college term papers. You should WANT to write on your subject. Procrastination shouldn’t be a factor; if it is, get a new product.

Ok; I’ve summed up the main constraints of writer’s block. Do your best to overcome your insecurity of your own abilities. Anybody can write; you just have to WANT to write. The rest takes care of itself.

The real difference between great and mediocre writers is that the great writer can accept writer’s block and effectively rid of the constraints listed above. He can freely type without over-analyzing his sentences or how he words things until the letter is typed and ready for editing.

So you want to be a great writer? Get a love for what you are writing, schedule some tentative time frames to write within (so you get it done), and write when you feel it; not when you have to.


- Derek Huizinga

Have you been writing nonstop for a few days now and have you been feeling listless and tired? Do you feel that you are running out of ideas lately? If you are suddenly starting to feel bored and get irritated at the very mention of writing, you are suffering from a harmless disorder called Writers Block!

Article marketers always need to keep churning up quality articles. Submitting good articles online is what makes you and your business reputed online. Article marketing is the key to getting your online business up and running. In such a case, you need to be in full form all the time.

But we are all human beings and are bound to slow down at one point of time or another. So what do we do in times like the above? Well, here are some useful tips on how you can free yourself from the notorious Writers Block:





Just stop all thinking. Do not try to tear out your brains – it will only make matters worse! Instead, just log into MS Word or similar and just keep typing.





Do not attempt to correct your errors. There may be many mistakes, as you are not even feeling interested enough at this point. Overlook them and simply carry on typing. 





Then peruse your article and note the ‘presentable’ bits. You will do well to use this style of writing later.





Start writing your new article using the very style you made a note of in the previous step. You will notice a marked improvement in your entire writing.





Slowly, you will also notice creativity flowing in. Now your thoughts weave into each other much better.





Keep enjoying the high and write as much as you can. The final outcome is bound to startle you, as it will be something of a masterpiece!





Learn to recognize symptoms of this ‘disorder’! Repeat this entire process each time you feel a kind of depression and lack of enthusiasm coming on.





Apart from the above-mentioned steps, it always helps to take it easy once in a way. Go for a swim, walk, movie or anything that will refresh you. You will be much peppier when you get back to work.





Maintaining deadlines can help you immensely too. If you have a project at hand, decide to finish it within a said time, say, two weeks, and then proceed ahead. You will find yourself much more productive this way. Most article marketers use this technique to write better.





Work in silence. You are not going to find it immensely helpful working in a congested place full of people. Find a nice, secluded corner and park yourself and your PC or laptop there and then continue working. Being free of distraction itself half frees you out of writers block.





Writers Block is something that happens to all of us writers. So never panic if you are currently suffering from it! Just follow the above-mentioned tips, take a deep breath, maintain a positive attitude and merrily type away! You will be free of it in no time at all!


- Aspasia

For me, writers’ block was a blank page on the screen of my mind. Nothing would come. No thought patterns appeared. The little voice in my head was silent. The tighter the deadline, the more frustrated I became. Oh, I wrote anyway but it was amateurish at best.

My mentor nailed the problem. It was fear!

Writers’ block can be from deep-seated fear that you have absolutely nothing of value to say. And, it doesn’t matter if you’ve done all your research and all you have to do is arrange sentences together into coherent paragraphs. Writers’ block, based on fear of looking stupid, can strike anyone at any time.

Based in fear, it raises our doubts about our own self-worth and it’s usually hidden from our consciousness. You don’t realize the fear is there but you feel like an idiot who only went up to the 4th grade in school. If you dared publish your writing, people would surely see you for the illiterate idiot you really are!

Here is a list to use to unmask the writer’s block demon in you!

1. Perfectionism.

The demon says you must produce a masterpiece of literature straight off in the first draft.

2. Editing instead of composing.

Midway through your first or second sentences the demon says - “No, that’s stupid. Start over!” “Uh…that’s no good either…uh…”

3. Self-consciousness.

The demon puts more and more pressure on you to get writing but tells you that you really are not a capable writer.

4. Can’t get started?

The demon convinces you that the first sentence is the hardest and reminds you of how critically important the first sentence is. It must be brilliant! It must be unique! It must hook your reader from the start! Scary, huh?

5. Shattered concentration.

The demon will draw your attention away from your keyboard by planting random thoughts - “Did I pay the electric bill?”, “I wish Jane was here right now,” “What time is it?” and on it goes.

6. Procrastination.

The demon tells you it’s O.K. to walk away for a while, to avoid the hassle right now, writing can be put off while you clear your head. Procrastination is writers’ block out in the open for you to see. When procrastination takes over, you have lost the battle.

Now that I have your stomach churning, here is what my mentor taught me.

1. Be prepared.

Once your research is done, spend a few minutes picturing in your mind’s eye the story you are about to put on paper. Play it like a movie with sound and action. Imagine you are a movie critic and you are about to write a column about the movie.

I would have news stories mostly written in my mind before I reached the TV station using this very technique. I knew how I would begin, what the middle would be about, and how it would end. This, by the way, included cover video and sound-on interviews.

2. Forget perfectionism.

Start writing regardless of what you think about your skill as a writer. Just write, one sentence after another after another. Let it flow. Some of it will be garbage, sure, but so what? The final product is what counts.

Look at it this way. Most of your readers/viewers are no smarter than you. Most have an average education. Most wouldn’t know a perfect story from an imperfect one. Most cannot recognize improper grammar. This alone should free you to write but let’s continue.

3. Compose instead of editing.

Composing is a magical process. It surpasses the conscious mind and kicks on your creative flow because it doesn’t judge quality. It only cares about quantity at this point. It totally ignores the writer’s block demon! It doesn’t care what anyone thinks. It just wants to write!

4. Forget the first sentence.

In fact, expect to throw away the first couple of sentences. That way the demon gets what it wants and you get what you want - to write! You can sweat over that all-important headline and opening paragraph when you’ve finished your piece.

5. Concentration.

Distraction is another sign that the writer’s block demon is rearing its ugly head. Concentration is the 357 magnum that blows it away. Pretend you’re Dirty Harry and use concentration to blow that sucker away.

6. Stop procrastinating.

If you suffer with procrastination in many areas of your life, you need to begin your writing process by writing an outline, a road map to get you from the beginning to the middle to the end of the piece. Keep your research notes handy as a crutch. You can try writing with pad and pencil at first just to get just to break the mental block between your keyboard and the blank page of your mind. Writing in this way may help you get organized. Of course you can always just attack your keyboard to get the flow started. Type anything and everything that come into your head!

Finally, one of the keys I employed when I first began my battle to overcome writers’ block was to keep a picture in my mind of my mentor teaching these shortcuts. For you, may I suggest you print this article and keep it next to your keyboard where you can refer to it often. Allow it to be your mentor. I guarantee, someday you will not need it because writers’ block will be a rare occurrence.

Yours for success.

Jim DeSantis


- Jim DeSantis