Writer’s Block? Do This Morning Writing Exercise

If you blog, you’ve probably experienced writer’s block at one time or another. I certainly have and I’m always on the lookout for strategies to deal with the issue.

Here’s an article published in Inc Magazine, Do This Morning Writing Exercise to Be Happier and More Creative, presenting such a strategy that might help if you ever suffer from writer’s block.

I’ve been doing something similar to this approach for many years not just to deal with writer’s block, but because I enjoy writing.

 

My Two Notebook System

I keep two notebooks. One is a moleskin notebook while the other is a flexible three-ring binder.

I use the moleskin for my ramblings as I like to put it. As suggested in the article, I try to write as early in the morning as I can. I’ve found that free form writing is a great way to actually clear your mind of all the noise allowing you to focus throughout the day.

With my Moleskin notebook, I don’t worry at all about what I’m writing. I let the ideas come and go. Sometimes I write about business and sometimes it’s personal. There is no structure to the writing.

While the Moleskin is more stream of consciousness, the three-ring binder is used to record my ideas. Mostly, this consists of business-related material. It might include ideas for books, niche websites, businesses to buy, strategies for growth, etc.

I use a three-ring binder because often I’ll write on a pad or other loose paper and then transfer the pages to the notebook.

The key for both of these notebooks is to make sure I date every page. With years of these notebooks sitting around, it can be interesting to look back and read what was on my mind at different times in my life.

And more practically, the notebooks can and do serve as inspiration for blog posts.

 

My Own Case of Writer’s Block

Actually, I had a little case of writer’s block this past Friday. You may have notice that I missed posting something before the weekend.

In my case, it wasn’t that I couldn’t think of something to write about. Instead, it was that I had so many ideas running through my head that I had trouble focusing on one single thing.

I was working on a book that I’m writing and my mind was preoccupied with that. When I’m engaged in something, it’s hard to disconnect from that activity and focus on something else. Actually, this is why I prefer to write my blog posts first thing in the morning before I get too immersed on other topics.

 

The Cure for Writer’s Block is Writing Every Day

When I started writing on this site, I only posted an article every week or two. And that was something of a struggle. But while I was struggling to post new articles, I was filling up page after page in my notebooks.

The big difference was developing a willingness to share my inner thoughts with the world.

Before launching Financial Slacker, I wasn’t very active on social media and certainly never had to create a post on a regular basis. So consistently writing articles on a schedule was a challenge.

But over time, I’ve improved my ability to regularly write on a consistent basis. And I credit this consistency with near-daily posting.

The take-away for me is that the cure for writer’s block is to just write. Stop worrying about what you’re writing. Don’t think about your audience or what they might want to read. Put words down on paper. Don’t even worry about grammar or punctuation. Sometimes a stream of thought ramble is the best way to get started.

After you’ve spent time writing, you can go back and decide if what you have can be retooled into a blog post, a longer article, or maybe even a book.

 

Have a great Monday. And Happy Halloween!

 

Readers, do you ever get writer’s block? How do you deal with it?

 

About Financial Slacker

After over 20 years in the corporate world, I realized that I was a Financial Slacker. I spent all my time making money for others rather than for myself.

The good news is that despite being a Financial Slacker, I still saved enough to pay off $60,000 in student loans and invested enough that I didn't need to worry about retirement.

But I still needed to make money so I decided to start working for myself applying everything I knew about business, finance, and investing.

I launched Financial Slacker not just to share what I have learned along the way, but also to connect with a community of like-minded people discussing financial independence, investing, entrepreneurship, and much more.

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