Cannot start writing… What to do?
Deadline is coming!
You have to write an article/scenario for promotional video/long novel/just two review paragraphs/or something like that.
However, you cannot start writing. At all.
What to do?
- Have a rest and sleep.
You need to feel refreshed! Sometimes just several hours of sleep, sometimes a change of activity will do. In other words, if you spend all of your time at the computer, have a walk in the fresh air, go to the gym, or make a 5–10 minute break with a small workout. It helps!
Breaks are important. You will write much more with breaks for a walk and a nap than when you spend 8–9 hours working non-stop.
2. No corrections.
“Write drunk, edit sober,” Ernest Hemingway.
Sometimes a block appears because you think you are writing the wrong stuff and as a result, you spend many hours thinking about the text, but do not write anything…
Write sketches!
It is a good way to trick yourself and to get rid of the suppressive load of an “ideal clean copy”. After you write many draft lines, all you will have to do is to edit them a little bit.
3. Plan your work, set up a tangible goal and a deadline.
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and starting on the first one,” Mark Twain said.
Learn to plan. Often when a person says, “I have no time”, it means that the person cannot plan his or her time properly.
Decide for yourself. For example, to write one third of the article until dinnertime. Think how much you can write within a short time period in practice and do not distract yourself. No social media, no checks of your email. No tea/coffee if your teatime turns into useless get-togethers. Decide for yourself: I will be writing for 2 hours and have a tea with delicious cookies afterwards. Award yourself for the fulfilled part of the task.
Do not set incomprehensible goals. Especially, if you have to write something big. Chances are high to get stuck in endless “I am writing a novel/book/play”.
Divide your work into parts and set deadlines to accomplish them.
4. Choose your workplace.
A place that makes you feel comfortable, secure, and focused. Some people find a noisy café comfortable, and some people prefer sitting in a park with a laptop. If you have no possibility to choose, try to arrange the minimum comfort for your workplace, for example, put a folding-screen behind your back if you sit in an open space office, wear earphones to isolate yourself from the talks of colleagues (even if you do not listen to music, you will get rid of noise).
5. Start writing.
Strange as it may seem, the most important thing is to start writing. You cannot start? Anyway, write several lines. Let them be dull! The most formidable obstacle is the start. To shift from thinking and procrastination to writing. To overcome it, you have to write. Just like singers warm up their voice. Perhaps, it will take some time.
If you doubt whether your idea is good, write several lines. If you cannot build a structure, write several lines. The main thing is to remove the block and start the work.
Let’s write!
Head of video-marketing department
Alya Gorchakova
