Got writer’s block? Copywriter and book coach Lisa Canfield joined me for a chat and Q&A about how to overcome writer’s block. We discussed pro tips for staying focused on your important writing, whether it’s a book, a sales page, follow up message or blog posts. 

If you’re wondering what writer’s block has to do with visibility, let me explain. As a business owner with a presence on the Web, you know you have to consistently produce content and stay in front of your audience. Your content includes blog posts, articles, ebooks, reports, video tutorials, podcasts, and status updates for social sites.

Every piece of content has to start somewhere and usually, that’s as written content, whether as an outline or bullet points or short paragraphs of text. What happens when you are stuck? You can’t afford for your online real estate and social networks to go dark. But, your mind is blank. You’ve got writer’s block. So, maneuvering through writer’s block is critical for the success of your business.

Not to Miss Moments 

(clickable timestamps on YouTube)

6:18 Denise’s story about writer’s block
8:40 Is writer’s block common?
10:12 How do you start an outline?
13:06 Do people struggle with other types of writing?
13:41 Categories of writer’s block
14:06 What is the worst type of writer’s block
15:20 Where do you start your writing?
17:47 Recommendation for getting through writer’s block
19:50 How to get over how we learned to write
20:30 Bill Ashton recommends Dragon Naturally Speaking
21:28 Denise’s story about recording a book chapter
23:14 Lisa’s tips for getting through writer’s block
25:13 Is journaling a good way to get through a block?
26:59 Denise’s tip and tips from the audience
30:48 Janica Smith recommends Aqua Notes (aff) 
31:21 Trudy van Buskirk asked how to get started writing again?
32:45 Bonnie Franks – review quotes for inspiration
32:45 Elizabeth Cotrell write 3 points
33:01 Carolyn Ellis write something for X minutes
33:16 repurposing Scope and Blab Topics
33:42 Laura West of JoyfulBiz – Start with a mindmap –
35.44 Damyante question about first person writing
38:25 Elizabeth Cottrell asks about writing tools
40:48 Margarita Chrystal Lotus – how to make sense of the gibberish that comes out of the stream of conscious
43:21 What is the Snowflake Method?
46:11 Lisa’s most memorable Adventure
47:30 Find Lisa Canfield online at CopyCoachLisa.com

Recommended Reading

Do you Believe in Writer’s Block? guest post by Lisa Canfield

What Do You Do When You Have No Time for Blogging?

Download the Audio 

For your convenience, the mp3 is posted below, from the live show with Lisa:

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About the Guest

Lisa Canfield is a Hollywood refugee turned ghostwriter, copywriter and writing coach. She lives in New York City with her husband Joel and dog Betsy.

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The post How to Overcome Writer’s Block | Adventures in Visibility with Lisa Canfield appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.

People ask me all the time whether writer’s block is real, or if it’s some made-up thing, like Santa Claus or affordable health care. And honestly, it’s not a settled issue. There are plenty of writers who will tell you Writer’s Block doesn’t exist, that it’s a fancy term for procrastination, that what you really need to do is Stop Whining and Sit Down and Write, Dammit!!!!

Okay, so some writers are cranky…

Well, I’m a writer, and I’m pretty old. And I write a lot. If it’s a weekday, I’m probably writing something for someone else that’s gonna help me to eat and pay my bills – or I’m writing something about my business or my services, which is also supposed to help me eat and pay my bills. Or maybe I’m writing something creative, that means something to me, as a person.

Okay, not super likely, but it could happen.

Anyway, I’m a professional writer who is also a regular human being – I’m not Elizabeth Gilbert or anything – and I’m telling you, OF COURSE, writer’s block is real. It’s real because I deal with it all the time. I can’t remember getting through a week where I didn’t hit the wall at least once. It’s basically an occupational hazard.

In fact, not only is writer’s block real, it comes in different flavors. The most common – the vanilla of writer’s blocks, if you will, is when I know what I need to write, and I have all the information I need to write it, but I can’t get past the first sentence. I keep writing it over and over, and every time, I hate it. So I try again. And suddenly an hour has gone by and all I’ll have written is “People ask me all the time…”

I know why that happens. It comes from judging – from being so critical of what I’m doing that I stop myself from doing anything.

Then there’s the kind of writer’s block where I get an idea – usually in bed or in the bathtub or some equally convenient locale. And the idea will seem crystal clear – I’ll get the language and the tone and even some whole sentences, all ready to go. And I’ll run to my computer as fast as I can, sometimes wrapped in a towel (!) and sit down and open a document…

…and it’ll be gone.

Whatever I had in my head that convinced me this particular idea was worth writing in the first place vanishes into thin air. Maybe it was never really there in the first place? 

Another favorite is when I just can’t get motivated. Sometimes, for some reason, writing actually feels physically exhausting, like running a marathon, or rolling a boulder up a hill. Except it doesn’t burn any calories, or even count as exercise – which makes it that much worse…

That’s the kind of writer’s block I think those grumpy “Just Write” writers are talking about. And I’m sorry, sometimes I can’t force it. Especially if you want what I’m writing to be any good…

Anyway, by now I think I’ve proved my point (go me!) – and that is, writer’s block is a real thing. Which brings me to the good news. Since it is a real thing, there are also real things you can do to get past it. Some of which I wrote down in a little free report thingy called The Positively True, Actual Professional Writer’s Guide to Beating Writer’s Block. It details the steps I go through to get over writer’s block, it’s FREE – and you can download it here – right NOW!

So you really can Stop Whining and Sit Down and Write.  Dammit.  

Recommended Reading

No Time for Blogging?

Use Short Form Content to Amplify Your Message

The post Do You Believe in Writer’s Block? appeared first on Adventures in Visibility.