trade tips: how to overcome writer's block
TRANSCRIPT
If you were the sixth grader who wrote creative mysteries that
dazzled teachers and won high positioning on your
family's home refrigerator (like me), congratulations.
Fast forward to today where you’ve been asked to write a press release or op-ed and
you struggle to find the words to begin.
Take heart because you are among the best and rest of us. You
are experiencing the common, frustrating symptom of writer's
block.
Rest easy because Heidi Cohen of PR Daily offers
21 tips to keeping your writing sharp
1. Create a list of articles you want
to write but don't have time.
It's easy to get inspired about other
topics when the pressure's on to write
about something else. There's nothing
like a deadline to make anything else
seem exciting.
2. Feed your mind.
Read a book, blogs or news sites to get ideas. This isn't an excuse to
get a snack or other indulgence.
3. Develop a story around a trending topic,
even if it's not your area of focus.
The objective is to find a way to write
about the hot topic. This can be useful
when you need to keep your content
relevant.
4. Keep a swipe file.
Sign up for a range of newsletters that
focus on your beat to see what other
writers and bloggers cover. Save articles
that provide new insights or formats for
inspiration. This doesn't mean you should
copy someone else's ideas or articles.
5. Collect relevant questions about your topic.
Think like you're writing an endless
FAQ. A list of questions gives you a hook
to build your content around. This is
particularly useful for blogs andcompany content.
6. Get a head start.
Before you quit a writing session, write
down the ideas you have for the next one. Form them into an outline and add it to your current document to
make it easy for you to pick up where you
left off.
7. Remove distractions.
Close your social media sites, chat and email. It's useful to have a
dedicated space for writing.
8. Make an appointment to write.
Set your timer or alarm for a specific time. That's when you
have to start writing.
9. Change writing environments.
If you always write at your kitchen table, try writing at a coffee shop or local library.
10. Seek inspiration.
Do something that provides you with
a muse. Go to a play or museum.
11. Write a piece using someone else's title.
The goal isn't to steal another writer's work, but to force
yourself to write with someone else's
framework. You can also do this with one of your own articles.
Force yourself to write a second piece that's completely different
from the first but has the same title.
12. Tell a story.
One way to make your writing memorable is to turn it into a
story. Include a beginning, middle and end. Even if you're
writing about research, you need to make it memorable.
Here are some storytelling tips and inspiration for 29 types of
corporate stories.
13. Break complex topics intosmaller chunks.
Sometimes you need to have more manageable goals. A
complicated topic might work well if you divide it into multiple
targeted topics.
14. Start where the energy is.
You don't have to write everything in order or start at the beginning. Begin where
you're inspired.
15. Leave room for discussion.
You don't need to say everything there is to say about your topic.
16. Use a human voice.
When you read your writing, does it sound like something a
real person would say or did you let it devolve into corporate gibberish? If your writing is
boring, people won't read it no matter how important your
points are.
17. Write in an active voice.
The goal is to make your writing as strong as possible. Your
article will lose a lot of vitality if you
overuse the passive voice.
18. Skip the four letter words.
While it's good to use a human voice, it's poor form to fill your writing with a lot of slang and
curses. Although they attract attention, it's not
always the type you want.
19. Let it rest.
If you've been pounding away on a piece for a while, take a break.
This doesn't mean you should abandon your work. Get the
main points down and wait a bit before you edit.
20. Read your article out loud.
It's amazing how many errors you'll find.
21. Check your spelling and usage.
While most people write on a computer, it's critical to make
sure you used the correct words. Spell checkers can't
tell the difference between they're, their or there since all
three are spelled correctly.
We hope these suggestions give you more hope and less
frustration in the journey of writing!
This presentation was originally published on our Voice Matters Blog.
To learn more about McKinney & Associates, visit www.mckpr.com
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McKinney & Associates was founded in 1990 with a commitment to social justice that has prevailed for more than 20 years. From
the beginning, McKinney passionately and skillfully practiced Public Relations with a Conscience for local, national and
international organizations involved in public policy and social advocacy. The firm has grown strategically, adding practice areas,
maturity and a strategic core to meet the needs of clients.