30 Ways to Bust Out of Writer’s Block

One thing’s for sure — if you’re going to be a high-earning freelance writer, you can’t spend a lot of time staring at a blank page (or screen). Beating writer’s block is an important skill that can up your earnings. When you can block out a few hours and count on getting your post done in that timeframe, you can book more work and bill more hours in a year.

It’s just simple math. Downtime is deadly to your bottom line.

Because I’ve had staff writing jobs where I absolutely had to turn in several articles every single week, plus Web briefs sometimes every day, I’ve learned how to reliably stick my finger down my figurative throat and spit out my piece, no matter what — come fever, screaming kids, sleepless night, boredom with the topic, or anything else you could name.

Here are 30 different exercises I’ve used to get my piece rolling when it’s not coming to me easily (in no particular order). Some of these relate to writing blog posts, some articles.

1. Take a bath. Calgon, take me away…to where I can finally think of how to lead my piece.
2. Take a shower. If you’re not the bath type, this may work for you in much the same way. Water is so relaxing…
3. Take a walk. This one almost always works for me. I start writing paragraphs in my head and can hardly wait to get back to the keyboard and get them down.
4. Phone a friend. Use your lifeline, like on those reality game shows. Start telling your friend about what you’re supposed to be writing about. You’ll find you naturally tell them the most important part first, and then the important sub-points. Presto, you have an outline.
5. Write your favorite part of the story. Don’t be all hung up on writing the lead sentence first. If that’s not coming, write the part you’ve got formed in your head.
6. Create an “idiot’s outline.” This is a favorite technique of mine. If you’ve got a reported story with a lot of interviews and they’re all swarming around in your head overwhelming you, simply make a list of each source. Then, write the two or three most important points they each made in their interview. Now you know what needs to be in your story, and you can easily pick points to plug in from this list.
7. Do a headstand. Inverted positions change your perspective, get blood to your head, and give you a nice break.
8. Write without notes, quotes, or attribution. I learned this one at a Reynolds Center seminar a few years back, and it’s great for reported stories. Simply put all your notes aside and write the story. Leave blanks for people’s names or write what you remember as their quote. Don’t worry about whether you’re getting your facts exactly right. Just write it how you remember it. The idea is to stop leafing through your notes and just get in a writing flow and pour it onto the page. Once you have a first draft, go back and fill in exact names and check quotes for accuracy. And you’re done!
9. Write the nut graf first. If you’re stumped on the lead (or lede in journo-speak) and are structuring your story to have a few grafs before you hit the nut, just go ahead and write the nut — the paragraph that sums up what the story is going to be about.
10. Write the ending first. Maybe you just know where you want to end up with the story. So write those few paragraphs down.
11. Write something else. Get the writing wheels turning any way you can. Write a letter to your mom, a blog post you’ve been wanting to get to, a shopping list.
12. Free associate about the topic. Free yourself of feeling you have to write the actual piece now and instead do free writing about the topic. One idea: Imagine creating a tag cloud for this post — what key words will you be using? Write those down, and use them as a guide to get started.
13. Read and highlight your notes. When I feel stumped on a big piece, often just reading through and highlighting everything makes me realize I have great stuff. I get excited about the piece all over again and usually get straight to writing.
14. Pull out and type the interesting quotes. Maybe you only know for sure one or two fascinating quotes you want to include. Put those down. Then start building around them — what would the source say to lead up to that quote? What would come right after? Pretty soon, you’ve got most of the piece written.
15. Read what others have written on this topic. Google around and see a bit of what’s already out there. You might find a new resource or two to link to, and the browse also might help you see a new angle you should use to stand out.
16. Do the technical parts first. If you’re blogging and you’re stuck, go find the photo you want, write the key words and tags, find the links you want to use, code your byline…get the post all set up. If it’s a reported story for a magazine, compile the source list you have to turn in. By the time I do these sort of tasks, I’m usually ready to write — having the technical junk done makes the post or article seem so much more real.
17. Do a chore you hate. You really won’t write this thing, huh? Do you hate this task more than washing dishes, folding laundry, shoveling snow, or cleaning off the porch? I thought not. A few minutes of scut work will probably send you back to your keyboard.
18. Play a word game. I think of writing as playing with a word palette. Just start messing around — there are plenty of word games online.
19. Turn off the radio. Sometimes the extra input is too much and it’s breaking your concentration.
20. Shut down all other computer programs. Wean yourself off checking Twitter, Facebook, playing Farmville, or whatever is distracting you. No more funsie time for you until the writing is done!
21. Do something else for 5 minutes. Just five minutes, now. Do some crunches. Make a healthy snack. Make tea. Then, back at it.
22. Take the 10 minute challenge. Tell yourself the world is going to end in 10 minutes if you don’t start this piece! Then write ANYTHING you can on it, as fast as you can, for 10 minutes. Some people excel in a crunch. In any case, you’ll probably get something usable in there, and then you’re off and writing.
23. Try bookending. OK, this one is not my technique — it’s from my sometime Webinar co-presenter Anne Wayman at About Freelance Writing. If you’re having trouble getting yourself to focus on writing your post or article, call a friend and make a commitment to them that you will spend the next 20 minutes or half-hour working on it exclusively. Then in a half-hour, you have to call back and report how you did. This creates instant accountability.
24. Stretch. I like the Wii Fit Yoga program, but pick your own method. Get the kinks out and some blood flowing, feel healthier and oxygenated…and back to work.
25. Do more research. Sometimes you can’t get started writing because there’s a nagging voice in the back of your head that says you don’t know enough about your topic yet. If so, it’s back to the drawing board — see what else you can learn to build your feeling of competency. Then, proceed.
26. Get out a pad and pencil. Getting off the keyboard can give you a new perspective and get the writing juices flowing.
27. Pick a new writing spot. If you’ve got a portable device for writing (or are switching to that pad and pencil) you could try writing in another room of the house, or at a coffeehouse.
28. Read. Sometimes a few minutes reading reminds us how wonderful it is to create.
29. Do a writing exercise. A quick writing challenge can get you back in the groove. I recently discovered Creative Copy Challenge — fun stuff there.
30. Come back later. Sometimes, there’s simply nothing to be done for it. You’re not going to write that article, chapter, or blog post today. In which case, stop torturing yourself and go do something else enjoyable. If at all possible, give it up and come back to it fresh in the morning and you’ll likely be ready to roll.

Got any more writer’s block tips to add? Please leave them in the comments, and let’s keep this list growing!