Dear friend,
If you’re like me, than I’m sure you’re pretty familiar with the well-known writer’s block.
From time to time, when you have to start writing something, be it an article, an ebook, or just a letter, there is that moment when you just stare at the blank sheet of paper (or at the vibrant colors of your monitor) and nothing seems to come out from your mind.
The good news is that there is a cure for this disease. 🙂
American poet William Stafford offers this advice to poets who suffer from Writer’s Block: “There is no such thing as writer’s block for writers whose standards are low enough.”
But, this is not an incentive to write junk!
Perhaps the most important reason that leads to WB is the lack of an idea. You just sit down in front of your perfectly empty monitor and think about what should you be writing. “There is nothing I can write about” seems to be the only thing that you can think about.
This doesn’t happen to me anymore because now I have a text document right on my desktop where I note down any important thought, idea, question that comes into my mind during my daily habits. Every time I start writing about something, all I have to do is to open that (now pretty big) file and “presto”, I know what to write about. 🙂
If you don’t have an “ideas file” on your computer yet, no problem, just take a look through some forums related to your niche market and look for questions.
Well, now that I have a great idea of what I want to write about, I just sit down again in front of my computer… and here comes the block again. 🙂
How should I start?
Here is a tip for you: It’s OK to start writing at whatever point you like. You can begin with the final chapter. You can start writing the middle of the book. It’s OK if the introductory part of your book is the last thing you’ll write.
Another thing you can do is to talk over the subject with a friend. If you can’t do that, you should record yourself talking about the matter.
Anyway, you must force yourself to write down something, however poorly worded that approximates your thought and go on with the next idea.
Also, you can always try free writing. All you have to do is to choose one sentence in a paragraph and write a paragraph about it. Then, choose a sentence from that paragraph and do that again.
Whatever you do, it’s always a good idea to be flexible. Be willing to throw out sections of text that are causing problems or just don’t work.
Physical actions can move your brain in good directions so move around, stretch, or walk.
Get a snack or drink, talk to someone, or just relax for five minutes before you start to write again.
After you already have a few ideas written down it’s ok to reread and jot down ideas while doing so.
Relax! Because the more you worry, the harder it gets to think clearly.
And once you have your book ready, remember that you will need a cover for it. 🙂
I can help you with that at www.AbsoluteCovers.com