Why Dave Barry and Liz Don’t Get Writer’s Block

Filed Under Business Life, Checklists, Motivation/Inspiration, Productivity, Successful Blog, Writing | 101 Comments

We Agree

Dave Barry and I agree.

Dave Barry Blog Logo

I believe ‘writer’s block’ is the normal state of writing; that is, you rarely have anything just flow easily from your brain to the keyboard. And if it does, it’s usually pretty bad. Good writing is almost always hard, and what I think sometimes happens is that writers forget how hard it is, or don’t want to do the work anymore, and they call this “writer’s block.” –Dave Barry, The Writer Magazine

When I researched that quote I was staying with a lifelong friend in a boy scout camp that my older brothers had gone to when we were kids. The camp had been turned into a bed and breakfast. Our room was cabin that had once been the poolhouse. I had an article to write before we could break out the wine. So I went through my warm-up to avoid what folks call “writer’s block.”

Preparation: Accessing the Subconscious

To my friend, Nancy, I probably looked like I was in hyperfocus. Actually, I was. I was doing two kinds of things at once. I was preparing a space to work, and I was preparing my brain to write–accessing my subconscious to see what ideas I might have.

What the heck does that mean?

Ever notice that you get ideas when you’re driving . . . or in the shower . . . or doing something other than trying to have one?

I always start my writing with a warm-up that involves some physical activity like ordering my work area, getting my coffee, or taking a walk around the block. Doing that gives the subconscious the room to let those ideas bubble up.

At the cabin I needed a place to work efficiently, so I went through setting up what I think of as an “endangered writing space.” That’s one where writer’s block is not permitted by protected writers species laws.

Checklist for Endangered Writing Spaces

This is the checklist writing spaces I use.

  • Select the work area. I picked the table where I would write.
  • Remove all things unnecessary. I got rid of all visual distractions and things that might get in the way.
  • Check that all tools are there. I didn’t want to stop to find things.
  • Place favorite healthful, thinking snacks near the computer. Hunger couldn’t tempt me to lose my train of thought.
  • Test to see there are no discomforts to nag me. I tried a test run in the chair and got a pillow to make it higher.
  • Lower the cloak of invisibility. I put my headphones on as a sign to myself, and to my friend, that I was no longer in the room. Those headphones meant I would have to physically detach to do something else. I also listen to music when I write..

When my space was ready. So was I.

Fanning the Flame

I didn’t have a whole idea, but I did have a spark. Here’s what I did to fan that spark into a flame. This part went bing, bing, bing, quickly.

  • I did a brain dump, writing phrases and words on paper before I started.
  • I picked one big idea from the brain dump and narrowed it to the size of an article.
  • I visualized article and decided what my main point would be.

THEN

  • I started in the middle, writing that main point as best I could without stopping.
  • When cool ideas popped up, I typed them as phrases at the bottom of the page and kept going.
  • When I got stuck, I looked at those phrases for motivation.
  • If the phrases didn’t unstick me, I got up, walked outside, looked at the sky for the words I needed, came back in and wrote them down. No other words–talking, reading, listening–interrupted my “break for thinking.” The point was to do something visual, to let the verbal loosen up.
  • I wrote the snazzy ending and the grabber beginning last.

That’s what I did that night in the cabin to earn several glasses of my favorite white wine from Italy, Ronco Cucco. Boy, I do like that stuff.

Why Dave and Liz Don’t Get Writer’s Block

We just don’t call it “writer’s block.” We call it writing. Staying stuck is not allowed. So like an actor or a musician who once had stage fright, we do writing warm-ups before we step on stage.

The good news is writing warm-ups work like scales for a musician or stretching for an athlete. They keep you at your best game. If you stick to it, warm-ups for writing actually make the writing get easier. Just like an athlete–a skater–you break through that wall and start skating with more speed and grace.

Imagine yourself writing when you no longer worry about writer’s block.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Writing–Ugh! 10 Reasons to Get Jazzed about Writing
How To Beat Writer’s Block
Questions about Burnout and Writer’s Block
Editing for Quality and a Content Editor’s Checklist
Introducing Power Writng for Everyone

Editing for Quality and a Content Editor’s Checklist

Filed Under Checklists, Content, Successful Blog, Writing | 5 Comments

It’s true that every writer needs an editor. We all know that I sure do. In textbook publishing, we say that every writer really needs two–a content editor and a copyeditor. The first makes sure the that the logic and ideas make sense. The second makes sure that the work is readable. Readable doesn’t mean much, if the ideas are all over the place.

Content editing doesn’t need to take bundles of time. You’ve gotten the ideas onto the paper. Print the post out and read it. A pause for a content edit makes sure that your information is accurate and accessible. Why not make sure your ideas move in a way that readers can follow them? It can only make you look smarter.

For that purpose, I offer you this basic content editing checklist.

Content Editor’s Checklist

  • Does the work have a clear focus on one topic?
  • Does the introduction grab interest and offer a clear purpose for reading?
  • Are the facts accurate?
  • Does the work follow a logical plan from beginning to end?
  • Does the body of the work present well-ordered paragraphs of main ideas with relevant, supporting details?
  • Does the conclusion leave readers feeling satisfied, feeling a sense of conclusion now that they have reached the end and know what to do with the information?

Use these few points to content edit. Then move on to copyediting.—making sure that the spelling, grammar, and punctuation are correct. Do the two separately. Trying to do both at once is like trying to have dinner with two dates at two different restaurants–not a good idea.

Use the checklist and you’ll be that much more confident that your reader won’t get lost looking for the forest among the trees. Now whether they’ll agree with you . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Blog Review Checklist
Blog Design Checklist
Checklist for Linking to Quality Blogs
A Blogger’s Personal Narrative Checklist

GAWKER Design: Curb Appeal as
Customer-Centered Promotion

Filed Under Audience, Checklists, Design, Marketing, Successful Blog | 2 Comments

The Qualities of Great Curb Appeal

Great design is branding that whispers. Like a house with fabulous curb appeal, a uniquely-inspired stained glass window, or the fine lines on a fabulous car, design is promotion that draws you nearer. It entices customers or readers to come closer–to see for themselves what’s being offered.

Don’t think for a minute that looks don’t count. First impressions tell customers that a business understands who their customers are and that the business knows what their customers are looking for. GAWKER understands curb appeal and uses it to deliver customers to their own front door.

Product is the what and the how. Product is the content and the quality that gets customers coming back. But whether it’s a blog, a bistro, or barometer, product is nothing if it never gets to a customer. If no one comes to read it, or dine there, or buy it. Then how can you say that the product is good?

That’s where design–curb appeal–comes in. Design is the why and the romance. Like quality product, good design starts with the customer. It tells the customer what this product is and who it’s for. Design done well makes the promise that the product keeps. It says, “Come here, and try this. You won’t be sorry.” If the product is quality, you’re not sorry. You’re delighted you tried it.

Gawker and the Curb Appeal Checklist

Gawker Front Page

GAWKER passes a Curb Appeal checklist with flying colors.

  • The name of the product, GAWKER, is big, bold, and colorful. GAWKER speaks to the audience that the product is made for. Cover all but that word–GAWKER–and you still know this blog is not meant for your grandmother’s golf team or your little brother’s playschool. GAWKER looks and sounds slightly irreverent and obviously self-content.
  • All things on the page speak to 21-34 year old, mid-high to high income professionals. GAWKER shows their achieving, metro-readers an environment they’re comfortable with, one that says, “you belong here with us. We speak the same language. We do the same things.”
  • Even the ads make readers feel cool. As the New Yorker pointed out, you won’t see pharmacutical ads in GAWKER, because all GAWKER readers are “young and beautiful.” At least, that’s how they want to see themselves.
  • In other words, you can tell by looking, that GAWKER has one BIG IDEA–CELEBRITIES ONLY–Content and Customers. You’ll read about them and feel like one too. No confusion here. Customers know right away whether this is their gig or not. GAWKER doesn’t waste your time if you don’t want what GAWKWER”s got.

In terms of the curb appeal the closer a reader gets, the better GAWKER looks. GAWKER has mastered brand-niche marketing.

Promise and Product Perfectly Wed

As a reader, I find exactly what I expected–the jazzy, snarky, celebrity gossip that makes me feel like a slightly smarter, sharper celebrity than the folks being talked about. GAWKER passes the test because everything they do says they know who their customers are. That knowledge shows in every detail of their product. The promise and product are perfectly wed.

The key to GAWKER-level design is knowing your customers so well that your customers can see themselves in every detail of what you do. Top-notch design and product-driven packaging require complete attention and constant awareness of customervalues and customer needs.

When was the last time you checked in with your customers about the curb appeal of your blog or business? Are you sure your product and promise are perfectly wed?

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related articles:
Blog Promotion: Checking Out Curb Appeal
Five Design Basics to Never Forget
Blog Design Checklist
Great Photo Resources to Support Readers

Adsense Blog Says How to Blogmitize!

Filed Under Checklists, Marketing, Successful Blog | 2 Comments

Gooogle adsense logo

This via Darren at Problogger, who shares my taste in graphics. :)

Google’s popular Adsense Blog,which covers it’s advertising program, has a post that gives the how-to of key points of action when monetizing your blog.

      1. Choose the right ad format.
      2. Place ads where readers will notice them.
      3. Improve targeting.
      4. Customize ad colors.

Google adsense Graphic

Then the adsense folks leave the door open for you to email questions.

If you’re using Adsense already, it’s worth a look to review the basics. If you’re not, take a peek to see what it’s all about.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Success in a Blink and a Blink Test

Filed Under Audience, Checklists, Design, Marketing, Strategy, Successful Blog, Tips | 12 Comments

In 2005, Malcolm Gladwell’s bestselling book “Blink.” introduced the idea that we make make decisions about people and things almost instantaneously– long before we do the cognitive thinking about them.

Last week, Reuters reported that Canadian researchers have found that people make just such decisions about Internet sites, deciding in less than a blink whether they will stay or click away from them. Here’s a link to the article.

Reuters Screen Shot Article Link

I wonder what Reuters was thinking to write an article so short that you miss the whole thing if you blink?

A Blink Test

Before you blink away, you might try this the next time you bring up your blog or web page. Try to see your blog as if it were one you’d never seen it before.

  • 1. Close your eyes for a minute. Then open them once the page is up.
  • 2. Pay attention to where your eyes fall first. Is that where you want them to?
  • 3. Look at a blank wall or a blank piece of paper for a minute. Then look back again. What attracts or distracts you? Does anything make you want to stay or leave?

Use what you find out to make sure your blog gets a “yes” in that first blink.

THIS JUST IN:
Gary an SOB over at Blogoplex did a test on several blogs including this one . . . Click through to read his blink test results. See whether you agree.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Re;ated articles:
Blog Promotion: Checking Out Curb Appeal
Five Design Basics to Never Forget
Blog Design Checklist
Great Photo Resources to Support Readers

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