Writer's Block

I don't believe in writer's block. I think it is an excuse for laziness. I do believe, however, in the fact that a writer can come to a roadblock for a given story/idea/essay/etc. This is not the same thing as writer's block. This is only a minor problem. Unless you are on a deadline, of course. I will get to that in a bit.

"Writer's block" can easily be avoided if you have a number of projects going at one time. For example, I have two clients that I freelance for right now, plus I am working on a novel and I am also starting to blog and review books more frequently. When I get stuck with one of these projects, I just move on to another one. I know this doesn't work for all writers, but it certainly helps me to stay productive.

Writing for someone else brings up an interesting challenge. When you have a deadline that you must meet, your writing will take on a tone of urgency. In order to complete the work on time, you need a clear idea of exactly what you need to write and at what pace. By listing your tasks ahead of time, this becomes much easier. I try and plan out all of my freelancing at the beginning of the week. This allows me to track my progress on my clients' behalf so that I can know ahead of time if/when I fall behind schedule. If I fall too far off pace, I force myself to sit down at the computer and write until it is done. Just by knowing that I must write something, I am able to get started. Once I start, no matter stuck I am, I can always keep going. The hard part is just writing that first sentence. Remember, you can always revise if the first few thoughts you get down are no good.