[Dana]

If you are a copywriter or if you are trying to write good content for your own site, you likely know what its like to get to a point where you feel like you can't finish a project. I hit that wall last night and had to ask for my first extension from a client because I knew I needed a twenty four hour period to refresh myself otherwise the result would be a lousy pile of words that I couldn't be proud of.

Sometimes, working on a large project creating similar articles can get boring. I try to mix it up a bit when I get stuck. Are you so bored with a project that you can't be sure if you're writing drivel or not? That's what happened to me last night. I was able to get an extension so I could regroup and find my creative mojo again but sometimes you can't get an extension. Here are a few tips:

-Read it aloud. That helps me through the self editing process. If I read an article twice and can't find a thing to improve on or edit, I know I need a break and a diversion. It's very seldom that your first attempt at something will result in a stellar piece of work that doesn't need a single edit.
When I come back, I read it aloud to myself like a radio announcer and see how it sounds. My family thinks it's funny but that's how I typically free myself of editor's block.
Everyone should self edit their work before sending it off to their editor.

-To find creativity, write about your favourite meal. I read this recently in a book I had to review for a magazine. The book was called Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg and she gave some great advice for relieving yourself of writer's block. If you write as descriptively as you can about your favourite foods, you will likely find that your right brain kicks in and you can muster the strength to put out a creative article/novel/advertisement or ____fill in the blank.

Cheers,
Dana

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[Ajay]

Hey thanks for the tips. Blogging has an exact same experience at times.

I have it all planned out, and suddenly it looks really crappy when typed out :(

Then the entire process of revision and improving begins.

[Eric]

Good stuff Dana! I think I'll try using some of these methods moving forward.

[Dana]

My twenty four hour escape from that project did do me some good. I flew through the rest of the assignment yesterday and put out some good quality stuff. I got the job done and it was much less painful than it would've been if I'd burned the midnight oil the day before. We dont always have the luxury of an extension though and my other suggestions have helped me in the past although getting out, seeing a concert, playing the slot machines and then sleeping in was JUST what the doctor ordered for this writer, lol.

[Tucker]

Thanks for the advice from personal experience, Dana. Writers block is a terrible plague on writers, but that's why writing isn't for everybody. You only get writers block rarely, many people would have a block the majority of the time.

Any more good tips?