“The Two Best Ways to Beat Writer’s Block” by John Forde…

An interviewer once asked me,…

I agree that making writing a habit is a very good strategy for beating writer’s block. When you’re writing regularly, the ideas tend to accumulate. But I think writer’s block is a relatively new problem for a lot of folks who are trying their hand at business blogs. If that’s the only type of “creative” writing they’re doing during the course of the day, it can be hard to shift modes. I offer a few tips of my own in my blog post How to overcome writer’s block when blogging (http://bedellcommunications.com/how-to-overcome-writers-block-when-blogging).

Best,
Crystal

Both are good suggestions… particularly the outline… because both focus on keeping your writing goal in mind. I’d suggest, though, that this is a great start… but for some people, not enough. I know of some writers, for instance, who can’t write well with outlines. Sounds strange to you and me, but that’s what they claim. Also, I know from personal experience that I feel sure of what message I want at the start of a project, only to see that message take a different shape when I get into the details. That said, I wouldn’t want to discount either of your two steps. I’d just like to add a third: Read. A lot. The more you know about what you hope to say, the harder it is not to know next what to talk about.

1. Be clear on why it’s important to me to do this particular project.

2. Make a good outline.