So you’re sitting at your desk, staring at the blank screen.
The dreaded mouse cursor keeps flashing and it’s slowly driving you insane.
In your head, you know exactly what the e-book is about and exactly what you want it to say, but you just can’t seem to start typing.
I know the feeling… and it really does suck…
…But today you’re going to get some of my ‘ninja’ techniques to beat this “Blank Page Syndrome” that attacks almost every writer, blogger, author in the world – at some point.
The past 5 weeks have been crazy because of all the things I’m shuffling.
The e-book that I’m writing plus the articles that I’ve been publishing, plus the sales page that I’m putting together – create a combined total of approximately 40,000 words.
I’ve beat the blank page and I’m going to show you how you can, too…
Add Some Pressure
I work better under pressure. That’s a fact – I’ve proven it to myself countless of times when writing posts and creating products.
I’ve found that when I have deadlines, like meeting the launch date of a particular product or sending out guest articles I agreed to do, I work much faster and more efficiently.
So, in an attempt to duplicate that pressure, I downloaded an iPhone Time app and set it to go off in 33:33. Those are my most productive 33 minutes every day, hands down.
Start In The Middle
Everything you write, whether that’s an e-book or a blog post, has a beginning – middle and end. There’s no rule that says you HAVE to start at the beginning.
Nothing is stopping you from say, “screw the introduction, I’m gonna write about this first” – that’s the fun part about being an internet entrepreneur, you can do whatever you want to do with your business.
You can always go back and write up an introduction later. Starting in the middle is a lot easier and gets you in the flow of writing.
Think Visually Away From Your Desk
I don’t think at my desk. No, let me rephrase that…
.. I CAN’T Think at my desk. Not only does staring at the blank screen drive me insane, I also get visually stuck. And when I’m stuck I start checking Facebook, YouTube, traffic stats and twitter.
Not very productive at all. So, whenever I’m thinking about a post, or a chapter for my e-book, or how to open an article, I walk away from the desk and let my mind relax.
It might work for you, too. Try it.
Outline & Add Stuff Later…
None of these ‘ninja’ techniques will work if you don’t plan your writing before hand.
I don’t sit at the my desk and put the time to 33:33 without an idea of what that post or e-book chapter is about. I can’t start in the middle of the article if I don’t know what the middle is.
I can’t think visually about the areas I want to cover inside the chapter if I don’t know what the topics are.
So the best advice I can give you about beating Blank Page Syndrome is to simply plan and outline your e-book effectively. (read this)
Go Offline (Paper & Ink)
You don’t need technology to write. I know it’s 2012 and there are a ton of cool software programs that you want to be using.
Dragon Naturally Speaking recognizes your voice and types it for you. WriteRoom takes over your screen and gives you True Distraction-Free writing.
But there’s no need for all of that… we all learned how to write in school using a pencil and sheet of loose-leaf paper and for some it’s much easier to start writing when using just that.
So, if you absolutely can’t get started, go offline.
How Do You Beat The Blank Page…??
I’ve beat it and these are the techniques that I use, why don’t you share what you do with the rest of us – so we can all learn some other ninja tricks.
Share your tips below and be sure to subscribe for future updates and share the post with your friends :0)
