SOFTWARE

Collegiate Dictionary

How to handle writers block

"Writer's block " can actually happen to any writer, good or bad. Many prolific writers have simply "run out of material" and had no more to say it seems. Then they had to stall their publicists who had them on a deadline and NOTHING. Others seem to think that if they don't have the right combination of BIG words, their article won't sell. So they pull out their Webster's Third Collegiate Dictionary, issue 15 with Thesaurus and all to get something. Stil...NOTHING!

So what is a writer to do? Does he simple stare into empty space and hope for inspiration to suddenly spark some words in the brain? After all, he's done this many times. May be it worked once. But this time has yielded mush in the head and further anxiety.

No. That's the worst thing he can do. The mind is a pretty incredible thing. There is tons of materials there. All it needs is a bit of "persuation" before it comes out. But before I tell you how to hadle this thing, realize that there's a chuck full of material there, indexed, crossed indexed and still crossed indexed any which way you want.

What have some famous writers done to handle this embarrassment? They've gone down to the public library and researched. Yes:  "researched", from  fiction, to non fiction to self help, chemistry, physics, medicine, golfing, you name it. The effective and prolific writer researches continuously.

Some might hit another "block" and say "But I'm not a professional writer". Or: "I'm not really very good at wrting. I don't know all of'em big words." Or: "But I don't have an editor. I make too many typos!" Come on guys!  With "Microsoft Word" and most software writing editors or even Blogger.com, anyone can be a star! I don't have an "editor". These cost money and I like giving you all of these articles for free. I apologize if here and there I don't catch a mis-spell or typo as I proof read. I guess when my articles land me various book deals or script writing gigs, I'll have the editors worry about that. But this is not really "writers block". This is just allowing some agreed upon and obsolete beliefs to  get in your way.

I'm posting quite a bit in Aticlesbase, which is probably where you stumbled on this article. Before my articles get published they get reviewed. This is a good thing. But the program doesn't highlight errors. I have to review the article myself before I submit it. Hopefully the editors catch these errors for me. I could paste from Microsoft Word, I guess, and then recheck and press "submit".

O.K. So back to the library---  I must confess that the last time I was there was about 2 years ago. But I went there to pick up some tax forms, not to research. It is a great place, however, if you're into libraries.  Many great writers do use them quite a bit. I don't frequent them too much because I'm sort of a book and taped lectures collectionists. My home library is a room onto itself, full of dictionaries and references.  I have many books on philosophy, Religion, Self help, fiction, non fiction, novels, The National Geographic, etc.

I have a very complete library. I'm not telling you this to impress you, but rather make a point with you that if you want to write, not have writer's block and be a prolific writer, you need to be an avid reader and researcher. I also have my office library which I refer to quite often. I'm not sure which one I enjoy most: reading or writing. They're both lots of fun. Also I research quite a bit good articles on the internet. I recommend that you pick subjects that you like and are familiar with. I recommend Mozilla Firefox for browsing because it can save your passwords, give you multiple tabs and not give you annoying pop ups like Explorer. You won't run out of material this way. I promise.

A great American philosopher and writer tought me this trick (research) through one of his articles. He wrote more than seventy million published words (maybe more actually).  His works would fill a large living room's shelves for sure. He was once invited to a class of young writers. No one seemed to believe him when he told them that he wrote more than ten thousand words in a typical week! They all seemed to be in shock and disbelief. All they were interested in was tips on how to turn in their assignment: a two tousand or so words article, so  they could pass the semester.  He wrote in an old Remington type writer.

Back in those days, there were no computers, much less Word editors.  In our modern world, we're actually kind of spoiled.   I'm not exactly sure how he was so prolific.  But i've heeded his advice and I write till my fingers hurt sometimes.  I don't seem to run out of material as long as I research. The writers name is L Ron Hubbard, by the way.

So now you "know" the first step in handling "writer's block". You might be saying: "I knew that!" That's great. I'm sure you knew. And here's something else that you "know". The mind is an incredible "computer" (actually better because it can imagine), full of data, references and cross references. Once you have researched, all that you have to do is tap it by doing the following (It's possible that you have already done it):

Pick a topic you like and know about and then the "story" will unfold. Here's what I mean:

You have just researched: 10 great ways to enjoy the summer of 2010.  You then go on to describe your findings (your research), such as travel in Europe, North America, etc. Maybe you have a travel site. This would be a great chance to pitch your goods and give your site back links with article submissions. Write about discount air travel fares, cruise lines, hotels or even "hidden treasures".  No I don't mean gold. In travel "hidden treasures" are commonly referred to as "unknown great palces to go to". How do I knoiw that? I researched it of course!

Here's another one: "Money trends in 2010". May be you love the subject of money. How the stock market works, what are the great investment opportunities. you could write about wether gold or silver will keep going up in value, etc.  If you have done your research, you will not have a shortage of ideas. I promise!

Alright. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much I enoyed writing it. Isn't writing fun?

For more inspiration you can go to my blog: How to get inspired. Here you'll find many other topics: Self help, Learning,  religion, inspirational quotes, etc.

To your success,

 

Carlos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

Who can tell me the 371 word in the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition?

no i cant because i doint think i really want to look it up and i dont have the 11th edition. why do you really need to no anyways?

Franklin Speaking Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary