Personal Brainstorming: Getting Past the Writer's Blocks

It's hard to get the message out in three-and-a-half-minutes on TV, no matter how great you are at brevity.

I couldn't do it.

So, here's what I really meant to say during my last TV interview:


Personal Brainstorming

Q: If you have a speech, letter, article or even a book to write, how does a person get started?

A: Begin with personal brainstorming. Like a brainstorming session you might have with others, just by yourself. Start pouring your ideas into a notebook, Word doc, napkin, whatever's handy. Write down anything and everything. The first step is to compile as many random ideas as possible, since it's so much easier to delete content rather than have to create it later.

Q: How does a writer go about creating that content, since so many writers get writer's block fairly early on?

A: Since exercise makes one stronger, writers need to get a writing workout in each morning, when the mind is still uncluttered. Three handwritten notebook pages of whatever comes into the mind unleashes that power and encourages writing to flow.

Handwritten is the best way to go. That's the method many prolific writers use.

The trick is to turn off the 'inner editor'. The one who wants sentences to instantaneously come out perfect, make complete sense and have proper form. That's not what you're after. When you relax and write whatever comes into your head, you'd be surprised at what emerges. You're not looking for ideal content, you're looking for unrestrained ideas. You can categorize, organize, and make it stellar down the road, or an editor can do that for you.

Q: What would you tell the person who is just plain stuck and can't get the writing out of their head?

A: I'll give you two writer's tricks. My favorite is to step away from the keyboard, go for a walk, clean something, get a snack. People get stuck because they're putting too much pressure on themselves. Ideal writing happens when the shoes are off, the eye muscles are relaxed, and the brain isn't all stressed out.

The other idea is to make a game of it by putting a time limit on the writing. We can tell ourselves we've got ten minutes to do x amount, then just write or type. We can do that with our minds, and many times we'll be amazed at what we can accomplish when we make it a race against the clock. Be true to your time limit, and at the end of that time, hit the 'pause' button.



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