First Aid For Writer's Block

by Marcia Yudkin 

Stuck? Not for long when you try these remedies for 
creativity on call.

1. Go somewhere else. One of my clients hops a train 
whenever she has a deadline and writes on board.

2. Freewrite. Right this second, copy the following 
starter phrase and keep writing nonstop wherever it leads 
you: "What I really want to say in this piece is..."

3. Change your medium. If you've been stuck writing at the 
computer, sit down with a pad of paper or even a grocery 
bag. If you've been trying with a pen, try crayons.

4. Take a rest. Sometimes you're just trying too hard. 
Sleep on it and in the morning you'll feel in the mood for a 
fresh start.

5. Write something else. If you're hung up on something 
for work, write something for pleasure or vice versa.

6. Talk it out. Call a friend and tell her what you would 
say in writing if you could. When it's flowing, hang up the 
phone and continue on the computer.

7. Repeat prior successes. Remember how you successfully 
started or completed something earlier in your life, and 
reuse that strategy.

8. Do it wrongly. Try writing your piece very badly. You 
may find you've created a halfway decent version with hardly 
any effort.

9. Start typing any old thing. Someone in one of my 
seminars got started every morning by typing the Gettysburg 
Address ("Four score and seven years ago..."). Before the 
end, she'd always segue into what she really wanted to 
write.

10. Visualize. Close your eyes and imagine your book or 
report completed, with a beautiful cover. In your mind's 
eye, open it and begin reading. Write down what it says. 

The above is excerpted from "No More Writer's Block! Become 
a Prolific Writer," a special report by Marcia Yudkin that 
details ten ways to balance discipline with inspiration and 
introduces you to five techniques that allow you to get a 
lot of writing done in a short amount of time. More 
information: http://www.yudkin.com/reports.htm