You might as well get used to it – if you’re going to be a blogger you’re going to be doing a lot of writing, for a long time. And it won’t all be blog posts. Sometimes you’ll want to write a press release or a few articles to use for link building. But whatever you’re writing, make no mistake – you’re going to be doing a lot of it. Here are four quirky ways to write more and better content, even when you don’t feel like it.
Find your best time and place to write
I have a nice little office area set up in my home and that’s where I go to do most of my work. But writing is a creative process that comes from your heart and your imagination. Sometimes that little office of mine can feel like a jail cell and no matter how hard I try, my heart and my imagination are just … empty.
However, I accidentally discovered an unusual time and place for writing. A couple of years ago I had some house guests. I needed to get some writing done while they were visiting but I didn’t want to miss any time with them, either. So I got up early one morning and headed out to the garage to work, so I wouldn’t wake anyone up.
To my surprise, I whipped out a couple of blog posts and got a good start on an article before anyone else woke up, simply because I changed my time and location for writing. I still, to this day, get up early and head for the garage if I’m having trouble coming up with blog ideas.
We all have certain hours of the day when we’re more productive than others, but if you’ve never tried changing your location, give it a go. Obviously, your new location doesn’t have to have all the comforts of your regular writing space. It just needs to be different to give your writing muse a change of scenery.
Just start writing
Sometimes that old writing muse of mine just refuses to wake up and get moving. When that happens, I just sit down and start writing. It’s an old writing trick I learned from a writing website years ago. Trust me – it works.
What do I write about? Anything that comes to mind. I start making a list of what I had for breakfast or just look around the room and start describing a piece of furniture or a picture. Within 14 minutes you’ll be ready to write.
Write like you’re talking to a friend
To make your writing sound better and resonate more with your readers, write like you’re talking to a friend. Just one friend, though, not a room full. Writing to one person makes your reader feel like you’re speaking directly to him, and that always makes a bigger impact with the reader.
Listen to yourself speak the next time you’re having a conversation with a friend. You use contractions, and a bit of slang. You’re not all stuffy and proper like a high school English paper.
The next time you’re writing a How-To article, or any article for that matter, imagine you’re sitting across the table from one of your friends and use that friendly language in your writing.
Walk away before you publish
I know exactly how you feel. You’ve typed your little fingers to the bone, with smoke rolling out of your ears, and you feel you’ve written a masterpiece. You simply must rush to publish this work of art NOW. Your readers await your pearly words of wisdom!
Don’t do it! Walk away from the keyboard for at least 15 minutes or work on something else. Then, go back to your article with fresh eyes and edit the heck out of it. Look for spelling and grammar errors, use your header tags, and for heaven’s sake – preview the article to make sure it looks nice on the page.
Now, publish your masterpiece and brace yourself for the roaring applause!
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below!