Five steps to overcome a writer’s block situation
By Alex Leix, Media and Communications Specialist
As a Media and Communications Specialist for Bohlsen Group, I write almost every day, whether it’s pitches, guest articles, thought leadership articles or press releases. However, even though it’s a central part of my job, sometimes I suffer from some “writer’s block,” meaning my brain draws a blank, and I literally cannot write. Maybe it’s a situation where I just can’t get started at that moment or it’s getting stuck after I’ve written a couple paragraphs. Sometimes I’ve written the article completely but then can’t figure out the title.
According to MasterClass, writer’s block is an occurrence experienced by writers that is described as an overwhelming feeling of being stuck in the writing process without the ability to move forward and write anything new. However, I think writer’s block can apply to anyone in any profession because everyone has to write something as it relates to their job, and I know we all send emails! It could be a situation where you’re overthinking an email response and getting stuck on how to start it, what to say in it or how to close it. Whatever it may be, I know we’ve all experienced it at some point, so below are my five steps to take to get over a writer’s block situation.
Step 1: Move to a different space.
I often find myself needing a change of venue when working from home, especially when I’m experiencing writer’s block. Even though I’m generally productive in this environment, sometimes a break from my desk is needed. It could be something as small as wanting to face a different angle so I can be looking out a window instead of facing a wall. Sometimes it’s because I need a break from my extremely uncomfortable desk chair! In the summertime, I like to work outside on the porch in some fresh air and sunshine. Try this the next time you’re having a mental block. For me, making this move helps reset my mind and find new motivation.
Step 2: Turn on some focus music.
Apple Music “focus” playlists helped me in college while studying or doing homework, so that’s been a great resource for years. If you’re a Spotify user, I know there are plenty of playlists on that platform as well. Recently though, my colleague, Paige Whitaker, introduced the team to “Lofi hip-hop beats to study/relax to” on YouTube, and I have never been more productive cranking out work than when that’s on in the background. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s a 24/7 musical live stream showing a cartoon-like video of a young woman writing away at her desk, sitting next to her cat and a big window with a cityscape view. Not only does the music help me focus, but the fact that the character is also doing work sort of helps me focus too because it’s as if I’m sitting next to someone. And if they’re focused, I am too.
Step 3: Brainstorm.
According to the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the term “brainstorm” was invented in 1938 by advertising executive Alex Osborn and became popularized in his 1953 book, “Applied Imagination.” Since then, it has become widely embraced within all industries, particularly in the marketing and advertising communities. That’s why I find having a brainstorm session is so productive because our team will do these often, and we are able to come up with some strong ideas. It’s also fun, too. When I do them with myself, it forces me to come out of my shell and write down anything and everything that comes to mind. Most importantly, there are no right or wrong answers or bad ideas in this stage. It can be a random list of thoughts–don’t worry about all the proper grammar and sentence structure here, and don’t worry about the order of information, either. Just word vomit! That way, you can go back to it and fill in the blanks with more information later, but this is really the time to write down those initial points that you know you’ll want included before you forget them.
Step 4: Create an outline then write the article.
Take your brainstorm notes and organize each bullet point into where you think they would go in the article. Think about what information makes sense going in the introduction, body and closing. Then, form those bullet points into sentences, and those sentences will create paragraphs. It’s OK to go back and change the order of the paragraphs, too. I actually do this all the time. During this step, you’ll want to get all the correct punctuation and attribution wherever it’s needed. As a public relations professional, I use the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook in order to double check correct grammar, so I highly recommend signing up for this resource if you can. If not, sometimes a simple Google search will suffice. Additionally, it helps if you wait and write the title last because sometimes you take a different direction than originally planned, so you don’t want to waste time coming up with a title first then having to completely change it afterwards. Let the article inform your title, not the other way around.
Step 5: Review and walk away.
Once you’re finished writing the article, read it over a couple of times. This is when you’ll notice the most obvious areas to correct if there are grammatical errors or you think of a better way to write some sentences. After that,take a break. It can be any length of time, but if I have enough of it before it’s due, I like to move onto something else and read it again the next morning with a fresh set of eyes. That’s why you want to leave ample time for editing because sometimes it ends up taking longer than actually writing the piece. I find this step extremely helpful, as I tend to notice more areas to fix that I didn’t see the previous day. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ll catch. Lastly, you want to get to a place where you’re confident to send it off.