Have you ever sat there staring at your computer screen, totally stuck? You know want you want to say, but you have no idea how to say it. The words just aren’t coming. It doesn’t matter that your deadline is looming, you’ve drawn a total blank.
Today, the Brand Newsroom team looks at “writer’s block” and shares some great tips for pushing through it. This episode is all about ways to get the words flowing.
Here are some key take-outs:
- Just start writing. Don’t get into a self-editing mode right away, just write whatever comes to you. Go back and edit later.
- Disconnect from outside technology — turn off the TV and your phone. Get rid of distractions.
“I have blocks of time in my calendar that say ‘writing from home’ and I really need silence. I don’t want music on, I don’t want noise in the house — if something breaks my flow it takes me twice as long. — Sarah
- Visualise telling the story to someone you’re comfortable with. Someone like a partner, a friend or a parent. It helps you strip out the jargon and clichés and helps you focus on the important nub of the story.
- A good editor will help you clean up the copy at the end. Have a good editor lined up — it’ll take the stress out of the writing experience knowing someone is going to look over it for you and help you improve it.
“When you’re thinking about it, get it down. Sometimes I can’t get to sleep because there’s an idea that I’m thinking about. Just write it down.” — Sarah
Here are the links you might need
- Here’s the link to Peta Bree Rule’s original blog post.
Have you heard the one about…
Recently James, Sarah and Nic took a close look at how to pitch to journalists.
And here’s a discussion about how to manage editorial workflow.
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