Writers do not actually get writer’s block. It is a condition that affects primarily non-writers who are trying to write. But don’t despair if you have writer’s block. It can be cured.
You have to know why you have writer’s block. You have it because somewhere in your past you took an English class and in that English class you had a scary sort of teacher who made you feel inadequate. This was a person who ranted and railed about inscrutable things like dangling participles and misplaced modifiers. She usually talked about things like syntax, and it was her life’s mission to speak and write perfect English.
You might think you left her back at your old high school, but you didn’t. It’s gotten a whole lot worse than that. Now she has become your inner English teacher.
Your inner English teacher will prevent you from ever writing well or effectively. The reason is that she is misguided enough to believe that it is better to not write at all than to write something that might be imperfect. And since the rules for perfection are inscrutable, unknowable, and usually revealed to you after you’ve violated them, you are naturally fearful.
She is the reason you have writer’s block. Here is what you must do. Kill her. Now I am talking about getting rid of the little imaginary person in your head. Shut her up once and for all.
Only after she is gone can you relax for a second. Now here is how you write when you have writer’s block:
- Find something you like to write on–computer, legal pad, spiral notebook, even a whiteboard will do. Without worrying for one instant if you are using proper English and grammar, write down very roughly and briefly what you are trying to say. This can be in sentences, bullet points, as a list, or just in key words.
- Review what you’ve written and make sure you have covered all of the points. If you’re writing about a new product and want to mention four specific features, make sure you’ve listed all four features.
- Review what you’ve written for a second and decide what emotion or action you want to convey. Are you trying to be persuasive? Enthusiastic? Are you trying to warn somebody? Do you want to try to sound clinical? Humorous? See if you can’t get a little bit of that emotion into your rough draft.
- Now without trying to write well, sit down to write your draft. Remember that drafts are rough. Mistakes are allowed. Do not allow yourself to get distracted by the dictionary or thesaurus. Using your outline or whatever it is you’ve created (your “notes” in the first three steps), write what you want to say as if you were saying it to your target audience. If you’re writing about a new medical product to physicians, just pretend you’re talking to a particularly friendly doctor and tell him your ideas. Use your notes to be sure you don’t forget any key points. (By the way, if it’s easier, just speak your thoughts into a recorder and then get your recording transcribed: instant draft.)
- Just to annoy the late inner English teacher, spell a few words wrong on purpose.
- Read over your draft at least once to be sure that you covered your main points and that it makes sense. It does not have to read like you’re a candidate for the Pulitzer Prize but it should make sense.
- Put your draft away for at least 24 hours, if this is possible. Then come back and re-read it.
- Now it’s time to polish. This is the real work of writing. Now it’s time to fix the spelling. Get out the thesaurus if you’re unhappy with some word choices. Look up the grammar issues or ask somebody with good editorial skills to edit your manuscript. You may have to flesh out the text in a few places. More likely, you may have to trim down some other areas where you got carried away.
That’s it. That’s how writers write. It’s also why a lot of people hire their writing done.
