Oh me, oh my! My writer's well has sure run dry. Now what? Suggestions foroutsmarting writer's block

 
 Author's program note. Sooner or later EVERY writer will face the ordeal of the blank page and come up with -- nothing! At such a moment, you may well fall victim to malaise, running the spectrum from anxious to suicidal. The longer the seizure lasts, the worst these reactions will be, until one completely miserable day you reckon you can never write another word again... and this can bring on not only sadness but a kind of death from which, like the real thing, there is no escape.   To help you through this situation when it inevitably occurs, I am going to pack this article with one practical suggestion after another. You may not need them now; may not need them for a decade. But keep this article readily at hand for when you do. First suggestion. Use a special song to raise your mood and get you moving. Have a song easily available that makes you want to surge. I have a list of favorites, all selected for their proven ability to lift my spirits and put me in the mood to give something to humanity, something like the project I'm currently writing. "Maniac" from the 2001 film "Flashdance" featuring Michael Sembello always works. I indulge myself, acting kid crazy as everything conduces to get you.... your brain.... and your prose flowing again. You'll find this song in any search engine... turn it on, let yourself go, until you feel the unstoppable energy that this kind of insistent music delivers. Second suggestion. The minute you get nervous, frustrated, flustered, hot under the collar, STOP and STOP at once. The worst thing you can do is force yourself to write. Not only will the quality of what you're writing be tainted, but you'll hurt yourself and begin to think the writing game is not worth the candle, the worst possible conclusion. This particular advice can be very difficult to follow. After all, you've been productive before and aim to be productive again just as soon as possible.   Surely, if you force yourself to write you can push the blockage to one side and flow, right? Instead, sit down at your writing desk, write as much as you can that flows naturally. Stop when the flow ceases... ... even if you've only managed to write a single word. Pushing yourself during a block never works positively and can easily affect your self-esteem and self-confidence when the push doesn't work. Third Suggestion. Keep your regular writing hours, even if you cannot write your name on the page just now. Good habits are the key to good, constant, always flowing writing. Thus, it is important during draught days to do the precise things you did during the fat days. What you produce may not be substantial -- yet. But even if you find yourself in the position of Oscar Wilde ("in the morning I put in a comma; in the afternoon I took it out again.") that won't matter. Why? Because the most productive writers are like Pavlov's dogs... trained to write whilst in your sanctified writer's place. Fourth Suggestion. Still stalled? Do this! First of all, notice I use the word "stalled" to describe your current unproductive situation. It is a word that implies you were moving and the problem being solved you will regain your accustomed outcome... and peace of mind. Thus, when stalled do this... Take a walk around the park (if you're lucky enough like me to have one right out the front door, so much the better). Find yourself a shaded bench where the view is congenial. Take out the pad and paper every writer must always carry; select an object and -- describe it, fully, completely, without leaving anything out of your description... writing not only factually but with as much lyric beauty as you can draw from the "dry" well at the moment. The simple task of describing the flower bed at your feet starts the productive juices flowing... even if you're able, just now, to write only a single word (tree) with just one adjective (green). The thousand mile journey starts with the single step; yours starts with a single word... and any word will do. Fifth Suggestion. Copy a page of another's prose... to get you moving. Nothing happening so far to get your stalled skills working productively again? No worries! Take a passage from a favorite book or article, open a file and enter this text. As you do, engaging brain and nimble fingers, you're performing a function all prose writers regularly do, in my case almost daily, that is entering reference material. When you've finished so entering a block of text, go on and comment on what you've entered. What was good about the passage entered, what was bad, what inspired, what underwhelmed? In just a minute or two, you're writing... perhaps not yet up to your usual level. But what of that? Your creative faculties are working; your imagination is working, your fingers are working... and soon the flow of new ideas, new insights, new observations and new perceptions will be working, perhaps even better than before. Sixth Suggestion. Read from your own prose. Far too many writers fail to read their prose aloud. This is bad for several reasons, including to make sure all sentences are balanced, harmonious, with every word the right word. Merely reading your prose cannot deliver the optimum result; reading aloud can. Thus, pick up the first page of anything you've written, not necessarily lately either. When you've finished reciting this page, sit down at your computer and write a second page to accompany what you've already written and read. Again, by positively positioning yourself and doing your usual tasks, you ease back into your stride and the production and presentation of the right words in the right order. And if none of this works? Seventh Suggestion.    Close, relax, start again tomorrow. With the best will in the world and the diligent adherence to these recommendations, your block may not end in a day, a week or even a month. Thus must you continue to implement these suggestions even when they may not be immediately helpful. Therefore, begin each writing day as you always have, at your usual time, and with your usual matutinal rites. Do not skip a single one. Similarly eat at the usual times; run your usual errands in the usual way. And above all, close your shop at the usual time with the usual activities, such as preparing reference materials for next day usage. Never stay up late forcing yourself every step of the way; that may well have been a contributing factor to the blockage in the first place. Guaranteed results. Follow these steps, and I guarantee your days of obstacles, impediments, blocks and absolutely no progress will be history soon enough. Moreover, because you have experienced what is often a terrifying situation, you are better prepared to see it coming and take immediate action to overcome it. Once you do, dance the "Maniac" gyrations for yourself. They'll put you in just the right frame of mind to produce that Niagara of high energy language, the kind your readers are thrilled you never stop writing and always produce so predictably and so well.

What's Your Social Signal? A primer for using social media.

Before the Internet came along, people would look you in the eye and size you up based on your appearance or perhaps your handshake. 

These days people judge you based on your Social Signal without possibly ever having met you. This time, there really may be no second chance to correct the wrong message.

What's your social signal?

It's the vibe, the feeling, the sense that you give off from your social media posts.
It's your online "first impression". 

That's right, it used to be said that people made a judgement about you in the first 30 seconds of meeting you.
                                

Now they review your social media posts on Twitter and Facebook and form an impression of you immediately and sometimes permanently.

So think about this in the context of being a business owner. Think about what you are posting or not posting, both reveal something about you and your business.

Negative posts reflect poorly on you not just now.  Long after you're gone, negative, impulsive, ill-advised posts or rants can live on.

Not posting or not using social media can also be a problem.

The kinds of things you post online form a picture about you, your personality, your interests, what matters to you, your ideas, beliefs and personal and business philosophies.
And not just to your friends, but to the the world at large, potential employers, your neighbors, associates, customers, friends and family.
Online posts - good and bad - can last forever.

The good news is YOU can control the content. You can create the conversation. You can build a lasting positive Social Signal that conveys the right image for yourself and your company.

One of the downsides to social media is it that it's INSTANT and LASTING. Censor your posts in consideration for the viewpoint of the reader. After-all successful business owners know that its more about your customer then just being about you. Positive, honest connections with people lead to more profitable long term business relationships and happy customers.

So what do you post to give off the right Social Signal?

Post and share, tweet or retweet  positive, genuine stories, and images.

Share images of yourself, your staff, your community projects, your volunteerism, your products.

Video sharing is encouraged for promoting your company, products and services. Videos don't have to be ultra professional, a simple web cam will do and a sincere script will work.  An honest unpolished approach is refreshing and appreciated by a smart public.  Search engines gobble up video content, so produce and share good quality videos with useful content.

Be sensitive and thoughtful in your posts in what you say and how you say it.  It's a lot easier to take a few moments to consider the best choice of words, then it is to issue an apology - if you even get the chance.

If you comment on other social media posts, make them positive statements, helpful, not negative.

If you have a company blog, produce useful content, images and video to both  help your current customers and draw in new customers (and search engine indexers too).

If you are a business owner or consultant, make your posts about your business, present yourself as an expert, whatever it is you know about, share it.
It doesn't matter if you are a dog groomer, or an exterminator, make your social posts work to promote a positive image of you and your services.

In the online stage, helping is not only well advised it makes good business sense. Help your customers, help your prospects, help yourself by creating a positive Social Signal.

I often hear from people who don't see the value of Twitter, or who think Facebook is a waste of time. Ok that's your opinion, and you are welcome to it but understand that the rest of the world IS using those services. Those people are your prospective customers, now and in the future. Those people DO use those services and want to connect with businesses using that medium. You can't ignore this opportunity to grow your business, and reach a worldwide market that is growing and demanding more convenient communication and access.   So by NOT having a Facebook account, or a Facebook Fan page for your company or Twitter account, Linked In account, Instagram account and so forth, you are missing out on business opportunities and connections with your customers.    In this way NOT posting ALSO plays a role in creating your Social Signal. It sends the wrong signal to your customers that you don't care about connecting with them, that you don't have an online presence, and you aren't keeping up with the times and needs of your customers. It makes your business (and you) look outdated, behind the times, unavailable, unaccountable.

So having read this,  ask yourself, "What's my Social Signal" What message am I sending about myself, or my business?  How will people judge me based on my social media presence?

Why not make your Social Signal and your online impression the best it can be. just like one of my student that make 50,000 view impression from face book alone this week . make your Social Signal you ID.