Blank Page Strategies
Most people suffer from white page syndrome or similar when faced with a writing task. Here is a coping strategy I find very valuable.
People call it writer's block, procrastination, blank page syndrome... Whatever it feels like, we all have trouble starting writing jobs; even professional writers need strategies.
Here's a technique I often turn to in my hour of need. Take a sheet of paper and a pencil. Write these words with plenty of space between them:
Know
Feel
Do
Under ‘know' list the factual information that you need your reader to understand as a result of reading what you are about to write.
For me now, this is:
- Everyone experiences some form of writers' block.
- There are lots of strategies - this is one
- How to use ‘know, feel, do'.
Under ‘feel' write down how you would like your readers to feel when they read it.
In my case:
- Reassured that it is not just them
- Interested to try a new technique
- That this looks useful and maybe Jane Penson has other interesting things to say
Under ‘do', write down what you would like your readers to do directly as a result of reading this. For me:
- Give it a try next time they write something
- Look at other blogs I have written
- Have a nose around the rest of the website
Benefits
- It only takes a few minutes.
- It can get your thinking process started before you even see the big white screen staring out at you.
- You get your head in the right place (thinking about the readers).
- You will focus on facts first which is often a good strategy.
Try it today. Let me know how you get on.
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