Knocking Over Writer’s Block
In the unhappy realm of writer’s block, American novelist Henry Roth reigns supreme. He published his first novel, “Call It Sleep,” in 1934. His second novel, “Mercy of a Rude Stream,” didn’t appear until 1994.
Most marketers don’t have the luxury of waiting 60 years for inspiration to strike. Yet we’ve all had those moments of staring at a piece of paper (or, more likely, a blank computer screen), waiting for the ideal sentence – the one that will entice a reader, dazzle a prospect or motivate a purchase – to spring perfectly formed from our brains. Panic ensues. Where is my muse? What if I have writer’s block? What if I can never write again?
Balderdash.
Unless you’re a poet (and maybe not even then), writing is more perspiration than inspiration. Here are some tips if you’re feeling blocked:
Have a deadline. That’s usually not a problem for marketers, but if you don’t have a deadline, create one. It will help you focus.
Don’t be intimidated. This is a craft, not an art (I can imagine the blog-bashing already). Save the angst for your novel.
Get something on paper. Forget about the perfect lead. Write (or type, however you work best) the title of the piece you are working on and a brief description. For example, if you are writing a press release, get the bare bones on the page – your contact information, “for immediate release” and the boilerplate at the bottom. Or say you need to write something about an addition to the building. Write down the number of square feet, the color of the walls, when it was completed, etc. Just getting a start can help open the floodgates, but if that doesn’t get the juices flowing, do something else for awhile. Your subconscious will be working.
Go with the flow. Don’t aim for perfection on the first draft. Ignore typos and grammatical errors and transitions. You can fix those later. If you’re having trouble writing, stopping to edit will not be helpful.
Write really, really big. Or use a large font. You can fill a page quickly. JK.
Polish. There’s nothing wrong with multiple drafts. Once you finally get some words down, you can edit to your heart’s content.
Of course, if you simply don’t have time to write, consider outsourcing (and here’s my plug for Priority’s custom publishing and marketing services). There’s nothing like transferring the task to somebody else to help relieve writer’s block.
