Defeating Writer's Block

Defeating Writer's Block

If you're a writer, or a student, or anyone who's ever felt the desire or need to write, you know all about the dreaded thing known as writer's block. You sit at the computer, or your're at your desk with a pad and pen, ready to write. But nothing happens. Your mind is drawing a complete blank. You feel as if you'll never be able to string even five words together into something coherent. It's a tragic problem and many experience it. The sad thing about this particular monster, is that once it's bitten, it sinks its teeth in and begins to work its way into your mind. If you don't defeat it immediately, it can be around for quite some time. You'll find yourself thinking "why can I write anything?"

There are a few fabulous techniques for slaying this particularly ugly monster:
Just write! Write absolutely anything, even if it doesn't pertain to what you want to write. It doesn't matter how bad it is, it's just important to continue. Even if doesn't even make sense! Who knows? Somewhere in all of the mess, there might be a few incredible pieces!

Take a walk! If weather permits it, a walk outside just might help you, as something you see might break the wall that's holding those good ideas hostage.

Remember when you were in kindergarten? That's right, take a nap! Some of the best ideas come from dreams. And it's been said that we often dream the solutions to our problems.

Meditation is an easy task, even if you've never practiced it before. There are many reliable resources that can teach you how to meditate. Like taking a nap, meditation offers the ability to quiet the mind long enough to find a solution or an idea.

Exercise! Exercise! Exercise! Do some yoga or aerobics, or maybe go to the gym and walk on a treadmill. While you're at it, observe the other people in the gym. See if that doesn't jog your brain into giving up those great ideas.

Sometimes, it just helps to talk to another writer. There's an expression that many authors use - "Only another author would really understand this." It's true - it's hard to explain to someone who doesn't write how sometimes our minds and our muses just don't want to work with us when it comes to our writing and coming up with great ideas. So, call another writer friend and talk about your writer's block. Sometimes two heads really are better than one.

It doesn't matter if you're writing a research paper, a love letter, or the next great international bestseller - everyone suffers from writer's block now and then, even people who don't consider themselves writers! The important thing to remember, no matter what option or techniques you use, is not to let the writer's block defeat you. You have to destroy the monster!

About the author:
Amanda Baker writes for All Things
Pondered


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How To Find Freelance Jobs - Writing About Food

How To Find Freelance Jobs - Writing About Food
by: Niall Cinneide
Did you know that jobs writing about food are available? These opportunities are available in a variety of areas. Employment in these fields is an exciting concept. For many, getting their foot in the door is the most important and most challenging first step. In order to succeed, a wide range of knowledge is needed as well as a good base of experience.

These jobs are available in all sorts of media. The internet is full of postings for good quality writers in a variety of fields. Some in this field write for magazines, newspapers, or even books. Others work right online. There are several avenues a prospective writer can take.

The first step in getting into any of these, though, is getting a good base of knowledge. There are courses that can be taken to give a good base of knowledge for the food aspect of the business. But, for the writing, grammar, and compiling of the articles and pieces, you will need at least a few years of schooling. Writing is the foundation of the work you will do, after all.

To start out in freelance writing though, you need to know how to get experience.

You can take your career to the next level by expanding your knowledge, getting your experience into a portfolio, and presenting yourself to the prospective employers. Try small, local newspapers to start. Or, submit an article to a magazine asking them to review it for consideration. Present yourself to the companies you want to start with, but always keep striving for other levels of opportunity. There are hundreds of companies that are looking for a new, fresh face in writing. You’ll find them throughout the internet posting on message boards and websites. Or, you can contact all of the organizations that you would like to get your start in by sending resumes and samples of your work.

You will enjoy a career with the freelance food writer jobs that you do get. You certainly will love the opportunities that are available!

About The Author


Niall Cinneide

Visit http://www.FreelanceWritingResource.com for more Articles, Resources, News and Views about Freelance Copywriting Opportunities. Copyright © 2005 FreelanceWritingResource.com. All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact.

Copyright © 2005 FreelanceWritingResource.com. All rights reserved. This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact.






This article was posted on August 18, 2005

For Beginners: 10 Ways To Prepare To Get Published

For Beginners: 10 Ways To Prepare To Get Published
by: Jill Nagle
(Skip directly to ten for the fastest shortcut!)

Like any field, excellent writing requires study, practice and mentorship. Very few successful authors ever published their first draft of their first work. Nearly all had to expend considerable effort to improve their craft. Here are some ways to prepare for that moment of publication. These tips also help keep you on your toes after publication for better and better writing results as your career develops.

1) Read, read, read in your field. You can never read too much when you’re trying to excel as a writer. Reading in your field helps you develop a discerning eye. You need this discerning eye for when you step back and look at your own work.

2) Cultivate role models. Know who the top-selling authors are in your field. Find out more about them. How did they get to where they are? Do searches in the Internet (available in most libraries-ask your librarian how to use a search engine) for information about particular authors whose careers you admire. Let your role models inspire rather than daunt you. There is no competition, only inspiration, potential teachers and opportunities for cooperation. That author you envy this year may be writing a blurb for your first novel next year.

3) Research your markets. If you want to publish in periodicals, whether literary fiction, journalistic writing, or anything else, realize publication standards serve a purpose other than to frustrate new authors.

4) Take classes. Many cities offer writing classes through community colleges or local writing groups. Online writing classes are popping up everywhere. If possible, choose a writing teacher who has published in a field you’d like to enter. Even better, find someone you already consider a mentor. Not every published author has what it takes to offer beginning writers what they need, but many do.

5) Join or start a writer’s group in your area. We teach best what we most need to learn. There is no better way to improve your own writing than to help others with theirs.

6) Find a writing buddy with whom to check in on a regular basis. The two of you can be each others’ inspiration, accountability market, guidepost and reality check. Having structure and someone to check in with may help you look forward to your otherwise lonely writing sessions.

7) Play with changing voices. Copy other writers you admire. How does that feel? Pretend you suddenly got an injection of creativity serum or I.Q. booster, then write like mad for ten minutes. What happens to the quality of your words? Is this a possible new direction for you? As creative and intelligent beings, we have so much more within us than we could ever dream.

8) Accept the reality of rewriting. Unlike other professions who get to rest on their milestones, for writers, a completed manuscript often represents a beginning. The best writing comes after lots of rewriting, even for seasoned authors. You needn’t throw any of it away, but not every sentence belongs in every work. Save the scraps, but don’t get attached to where they go, or the integrity of your project will suffer.

9) Get clear on what you want out of getting published. Many writers move forward without knowing where they want to wind up. As a teacher once told me, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” The answer to what you want out of getting published will help you determine the best route to take. And in publishing, those routes are many and varied. You can use our Twenty Questions as a self-help guide.

10) If what you want is to get published in the least amount of time, considering hiring a ghostwriter. An extremely common but rarely discussed practice, many successful authors talk to ghostwriters, who put their skills to work on an author’s behalf. Although some such ghostwriters get a cover credit, many do not, hence the “ghost” terminology. If you have more money than time or inclination to toil, ghostwriting may be the option for you. To learn more about ghostwriting, send an email to information@getpublished.com.

About The Author


You are welcome to reprint this article any time, anywhere with no further permission, and no payment, provided the following is included at the end or beginning:

Author Jill Nagle is founder and principal of GetPublished, http://www.GetPublished.com, which provides coaching, consulting, ghostwriting, classes and do-it-yourself products to emerging and published authors. Her most recent book is How to Find An Agent Who Can Sell Your Book for Top Dollar http://www.FindTheRightAgent.com.

Jill@getpublished.com






This article was posted on February 24, 2005

Wake Up Your Writing Spirit

Wake Up Your Writing Spirit
by: Shelley Wake
The Blogfest 2005 Writing Contest has only been running for two weeks and already the results are overwhelming. And not because we’re getting far more entries than we expected. It’s because along with entries, we’re also getting heartfelt messages from writers all over the world. I’ve run a few contests before and received quite a few entries, but I’ve never been personally emailed and thanked by so many writers.

What’s the difference with this contest? I think the main reason is that the idea actually came from writers. Even though the writers at our company work in publishing, they find it a little sad that there’s so much focus on writing what can sell instead of writing what truly matters to you. They wanted a contest that would allow people to write whatever they wanted to write.

From that idea came Blogfest, a contest designed to encourage all writers to get the project of their dreams done. Unlike most contests, we decided not to offer publication and not to pay the prize for a completed work. Instead, we decided to offer the prizes based on how much the writing project means to the writer. This is one contest that isn’t about whether or not your work can sell or about what your writing will mean to someone else. It’s about what it means to you.

To enter, we asked writers to tell us about the one thing they’ve always wanted to write and to tell us what it would mean to them to write it. Now, after only two weeks, we have an inbox full of emails from people. Entries so far have included grandparents wanting to write their life story for their grandchildren, aspiring novelists, professional writers looking for the chance to write something for themselves and not for money, and a young woman wanting to capture and preserve her mother’s family recipes.

These people have entered and then sent us an extra email just to thank us for the opportunity. They’ve told us how just writing about the project has made them so excited and full of joy. They have enthusiasm and feel delight just for thinking about finally writing. And we’ve started reading the entries and the joy is there too. As a publisher, I’m used to reading submissions and contest entries. It’s often a joy but there’s rarely as much life as there is in these submissions. Reading them, I can feel that people have that spark of excitement that is only motivated by something much greater than money or even publication. It’s the joy of doing what your heart’s always wanted to do.

There is more to writing than publication and money and this competition is bringing out the real spirit of writing.

My message to all writers is to think about what matters to them. Think about that one thing you’ve always dreamed of writing. I challenge you to write down what completing that project would mean to you. If you feel that spark, I challenge you to commit to your project and get it written. Not because you can make money from it, but because it means something to you.

This contest has made me see more clearly than ever that there is far more to writing than making money. There will only be a few winners to Blogfest, and choosing them is going to be the toughest job we do all year. But I hope this idea can reach further than that. I hope all writers will listen to their hearts and complete their projects. I hope that just thinking about actually doing it will wake up that writing spirit that is in so many people.

About The Author


Shelley Wake is one of the organizers of Blogfest 2005 and the manager and editor of Writing Stuff. http://www.writingstuff.com.






This article was posted on February 20, 2005

Succeeding in the Business of Freelance Writing

Succeeding in the Business of Freelance Writing
by: Amber McNaught
Something that's always surprised me about the freelance writing business is just how many writers there are out there who don't seem to realize that they're running a business.

Succeeding in the Business of Freelance Writing

Of the freelance writers who send quotes to prospective employers through my website, http://www.WritingWorld.org, it never fails to surprise me just how many make no effort whatsoever to try and "sell" themselves. Some simply post a quote and nothing else: no information about themselves, no indication about their skills and experience, nothing. Others post a quote with a short message saying, "I don't know what a 'search engine optimized article' is, but please pick me anyway", or "I have no experience in this, but hopefully I'll be able to do it."

Needless to say, the writers who don't bother to sell themselves never get the gigs. So why don't they make the effort? Because they fail to realize that they're running a business.

Some – not all, but some – of the freelance writers we encounter seem to have somehow picked up the idea that all they have to do to succeed is to be good at writing. Unfortunately, it's not quite as simple as that: to really succeed as a freelance writer, you have to be good at selling yourself. And you have to be aware that you're running a business.

Marketing Your Freelance Writing Business Online

If you really want to run a successful freelance writing business, think about getting a website. Most businesses these days have websites: they're the ideal way for customers to find you, read more about your services and get in touch.

This is another area, however, where a lot of freelance writers fail. Because not just any old website will do. Sure, there are some very professional looking websites out there, run by freelance writers – but there are just as many sites which seem designed to frighten away clients rather than attract them. Amateurish design, tacky animations, clashing colors and even, God-forbid, music, are all the sign of the amateur freelance site.

Getting Your Freelance Writing Website Up and Running

While it's tempting to try and put together a website yourself, unless you have a really sound grasp of website design, this tactic can really backfire. An amateurish website tells your visitors that you're an amateur business, and that you don't have enough faith in the viability of your business to invest in a professional website. All of these things are red flags to clients, who'll go elsewhere in a heartbeat.

Get yourself a professionally designed website – and if your budget can't stretch to an entire website, consider signing up for a personal profile at WritingWorld.org, where for only $25 per year you get your own page, complete with downloadable resume, writing samples and client testimonials.

Your WritingWorld.org profile also gives you your own WritingWorld URL, which you can give to prospective clients, or even market in the same way you would promote your own website, using pay per click ads or other methods.

About The Author


Amber McNaught is the owner of http://www.WritingWorld.org, where a one-page personal profile costs only $25 per year.

Amber also runs Hot Igloo Productions Ltd, which offers affordable website design: visit http://www.hotigloo.co.uk.

amber@hotigloo.co.uk

How To Make Real Money From Writing?

How To Make Real Money From Writing?
by: Linda Correli
The significance of writing skills is emphasized far and wide over and over again. Writing skills are called mandatory, indispensable, crucial and drastic ability, a ticket to the thriving future of the person.

The overwhelming majority of instructors and employers which were surveyed recently stressed that writing skills are critical both for academic and career success. The survey carried by Lin Grensing revealed that 79 percent of respondent executives cited writing as one of the most neglected skills in the business world, yet one of the most important to productivity. They also admitted that approximately 80 percent of their employees at all levels need to improve their writing skills.

To master good writing skills means not only to become well-educated and competent person, but as well taps you into the wealth of lucrative opportunities. It exactly means that you can turn your gift of eloquence into sideline and perhaps steady income. The money earned from writing can become a good support for you, so you can spend them on different insignificant trinkets, which will significantly reduce your general outcome.

Practically anyone can make fortune writing and selling simple information. The only question is how to market your skills for profit-making results. The best advice for those who are willing to earn extra money and have the ability to express their ideas coherently is turning their writing skills into regular decent income and enjoining the independence and freedom everyone can earn in addition to the tidy sums of money.

Here are some easy-to-follow techniques and tested principles, which will reveal you how to make money from writing immediately and on regular basis. So let’s single out top 7 winning principles of how to make money from writing.

P1. Become a freelance writer. Perhaps someone thinks that making money from freelance writing is a lottery and he’ll never enter the game without having a famous name. Indeed when you take the risks of freelance writing you don’t jeopardy really. If it is your subsidiary income you can afford yourself to try making some extra money. First, you work at home and spend very little time to get started. In any case you can indemnify yourself from the unrequited labor by specifying all the details with the client preliminary, checking up the reliability of the company or client you are dealing with or solicit for the prepaid part of compensation for your work.

P2. Figure out the markets that pay and might be interesting in something you are willing and able to write. Always remember that whether you have yen writing about evolution and reproduction of mollusks or about data communications there is an audience hungry for your articles. Thus, the best thing the newcomers can do is to search for the topics which enjoy the popularity of the audience. Hence, you should try to swim with the current and write the articles which are in demand.

P3. You can start selling your services through the service agency, so that to leave your resume and wait for the call. Large and even small companies often apply to such agencies looking for the writers. It can be a good chance for you to start and develop a circle of potential clients.

P4. When you build up a vast network of clients, you can cut out the agencies and offer your services to the clients before the agencies do.

P5. You can query the editors and offer them an interesting article idea you think you can write for them. Also you can suggest the editors articles which you have already written and which are related to the subject-matter of their journal, magazine or bulletin, so that to have a chance that your article will be published. Compose press-releases, short stories or reviews and submit them to the targeted publications.

P6. You can write postcards both humor and verse for sure if you feel you can do it and suggest them for card publishers. One more winning and quick strategy is slogan writing. It takes minimum time, but brings good awards. So you can offer your slogans to the advertising agencies and become their permanent slogan writer in case if your slogans really work.

P7. Writing and selling jokes is not only money making, but pleasant and fun strategy of earning extra cash. You can compose short comedy material, radio comedy sketches and scripts for comedians, radio or TV.

With these tested principles you will make big dividends from your part-time writing. As well as making money you’ll be having fun, socializing, meeting new people and boosting your self-confidence and self-esteem. And if you wish, you’ll be well on your way to a full-time career as a well-paid freelance writer.

About The Author


Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.Customresearchpapers.us She helps students write college research papers, term books, admission essays, book report and many other types of writing assignments: from personal statements to professional case studies. Article sponsored by http://www.go2essay.com.

The Unwritten World Of The "Reality" Of Letterwriting

The Unwritten World Of The "Reality" Of Letterwriting
by: Tamara Stevens
The unwritten “reality” of letter writing

You may wonder why I have chosen this title of this post. Well from my experience is that it is really hard to put the feeling into words about what letter writing means to me. Letter writing is becoming a lost art on many levels. It is fading into the background of society. It is still practised by many people. It is those people that I am looking to connect with. I have been told by many people whom have read my posts that they feel the same way about letter writing as I do. I want to hear from those people what they feel; I want to hear their words.

I think that it is so important that we embrace the things that we are passionate about. In this case, I want people from all walks of life, all over the world. Put a pen to paper that is letter writing; pen pals, snail mail whatever it is you call it and tell your story about what writing and receiving actual physical mail in the mail box means to you.

For me I love the whole process from finding kwel and interesting stationary, note cards, ticklopes (they are so cute) to stickers, to colour full envelopes to tuckins to put in the envelopes. For me it is to make others happy to see a letter to them in their box.

I want to hear from you yes you the one reading this post. I know you love to get a letter addressed to you? Who doesn’t? Is there some that you have kept? If so? Why? When? How? Yes I want all the 5 W’s answered. The reason is I think that it is important to have book that expresses just how important this art of letter writing is to our society. I have heard from a publisher that they are interested. Now I just have to create the masterpiece called the unwritten “reality” of the lost art of letterwriting.

Help me help shine the light on this amazing gift so that it doesn’t disappear from the future. If you want more info please feel free to contact me. I have more to share as always. If you can think of other places to post or spread the word please do. This is dedicated to you. I would appreciate any help in getting the word out. I don’t think that I could do this book justice with out having fellow letter writers sharing their experiences about the passion of this amazing hobby.

Tamara Stevens
6 Commodore Ave
Sackville, NS B4E 3B2 Canada
Tamaras_snails@lalw.org / http://www.lalw.org

About The Author


Tamara Stevens - I am 29 years old and I am writing a book on the lost art of letter writing
tamaras_snails@lalw.org