Affiliate Tips: Getting Rid of Writer’s Block
14-02-2017
We’ve mentioned in our previous article, the 8 Effective Ways to Start Promoting, how important blogging is to drawing in new viewers and retaining old ones. Many of our Affiliates commit to blogging on their multiple web platforms because it works so well in driving traffic.
However, some digital marketers might be intimidated by the thought of writing 500-600 words per day. This is the average length of our weekly articles. It’s understandable that not everyone enjoys writing. When thoughts don’t flow into words, it’s hard to appreciate the craft of writing. Luckily, writing is not a talent, but an acquired skill. It is possible for someone who’s always been ‘bad’ at writing to become better and eventually master the art.
Here’s how you can stop getting writer’s block altogether:
Affiliate Tips: Become Familiar with Your Topic
Before your thoughts can flow into writing, you should at least know the topic relatively well. The more you read about the topic, the greater your understanding will be. Your thoughts will begin to flow once you have enough information to feel confident about writing on the topic at hand.
This rule applies to all writers, but those with the least practice need to read about their topics the most. The biggest problem that most new writers face is not the inability to write well, but the inability to form coherent conclusions on certain topics. Knowing your topic inside out is the first step to transferring your thoughts onto paper (or Word Doc). Over time, you will have trained your thoughts to flow so well that you won’t have to know your topic inside out in order to write a decent article. Understanding will come quicker and with less trouble than before. But first, you must develop the discipline to read before you write.
Affiliate Tips: Create an Outline
Once you have an idea of what you want to write about, create a simple outline to help guide your thought process. Outlines are the enemies of writer’s block. The more detailed your outline is, the more effective it will be at combating writer’s block.
Affiliate Tips: Work on Flow, Not Just Grammar
Assuming that you’ve already mastered basic grammar, the next step is to learn how to write confidently. Earlier, we’ve mentioned that one of the ways to gain confidence is to learn about the subject as much as you can before you start writing. Another effective way to improve thought flow is to simply care less about grammar and more about getting your thoughts out. You can always go back and edit your work, but you won’t have anything to edit if you’re constantly afraid of making a mistake.
One of the best writing tips we’ve heard is to write fearlessly, as if no one is judging your paper—not even yourself. Write as if you’re chatting with someone. This exercise will help you to loosen up and write genuinely rather than forcefully. After getting all of your thoughts out on the document, go back and make the necessary grammatical changes. Keep in mind that this step will seem easier after you’ve completed steps 1 and 2.
Affiliate Tips: Practice Makes Perfect
As with all acquired skills, those who write often will become better writers and thinkers. Try writing at least 300 words a day for two weeks. After two weeks, you will most likely find that your thoughts are flowing much better than before. Continue writing 400 words a day for another two weeks. When you feel like you’ve finally got the hang of writing, feel free to take a small break—but don’t stop completely. If you stop writing midway, you might lose momentum and find it even harder to start again.
Politico’s Chief Columnist, Roger Simon, said, “Why should I get writer’s block? My father never got truck driver’s block.” Indeed—the more you write, the more you develop the muscles to write faster and more coherently. It all starts with the mind. Don’t fear the craft as though it’s a talent reserved for only a few. View writing for what it really is: a learned trade.
If you have a blog and are interested in signing up with us as an Affiliate, register with us now!
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