Two Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block

Two Tips for Overcoming Writer's Block

When you start a new blog, you may have a list of topics a mile long that you want to write about, but as time goes by, the list gets shorter and shorter.

Some topics you’ve already written about, some are no longer current.

Some become overdone on other blogs and some require too much research to be practical.

So what do you do when you just don’t have anything else to write about?

I’m not just a writer; I’m an off-and-on English teacher.

Some of my students approached writing very nervously, but all of them came up with great material using two of my favorite techniques.

 

Two Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block

 

1) Freewriting

I learned about freewriting in college and it is my very favorite trick to get the writing wheels turning.

It’s simple–you put a piece of paper (or a laptop) in front of you and just write.

If you can’t find any other place to start, write about the laptop and the click of the screen and whether or not it is bright enough, write about the sound of the pen on the paper, write about how stupid you think the exercise is, I don’t care!

Just write!

Don’t stop to correct grammar or spelling.

Don’t stop to read over what you wrote.

Set a timer if you want, 10, 15, 20 minutes of uninterrupted writing.

Very often, you will find that you have written something interesting that can be polished up into a usable post or at least you will have discovered what is interesting to you at the moment.

Two Tips for Overcoming Writer's Block and brainstorming sub-topics.

 

2) Brainstorming

This is similar to free writing, but instead of a piece of prose, you are creating a list of topics or ideas that interest you.

Look at it as a game.

My (long neglected) blog is about mortgage freedom.

I already have a pretty good idea of the bigger themes that interest me: owner-builders, tiny houses, thrifty housekeeping, etc.

But I could take one of those and brainstorm sub-topics.

So here’s a five-minute brainstorm on tiny houses:

Try Space-saving Christmas trees, baking in a tiny house, parties in a tiny house and space saving furniture.

Consider double use furniture, storing holiday decorations in a tiny house, how to use a few treasured decorations in conjunction with natural or recyclable decor.

Think about cozy evenings in a tiny house, comfortable nooks in a tiny house, and where to store your big vat of soup in a tiny house.

Last but not least slumber parties in a tiny house, tiny house living in winter, towing a tiny house on winter roads (ack!), how does Santa get into a tiny house (hee hee), round-up of tiny houses with Christmas lights.

And that’s just in five minutes!

Obviously I’m in the holiday spirit right now!

Finally, combine the two!

Pick a topic from your brainstorm and free write about it.

Before you know it, you’ll have plenty of material for your blog.

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