You are a freelance content writer. People actually pay you to write for them. For each client you try your best to not only give them what they asked for, but to impress them so they keep coming back to you for more. But, over time, your creative well may run dry. If you feel you are in a writing rut, churning out the same style every day, you may need to break free of your usual writing routine. One of the following ideas is bound to break you of the chains that bind your creative soul.
Get a New Office
Don’t worry, I’m not going to suggest you squat in the corner of some dank English coffee shop, rocking a baby buggy with your toe like J.K. Rowling. But who says you can’t leave the house to write? The world is yours. Take your legal pad or your iPad or your laptop and go. Jump on a commuter train, a bus, or a riverboat cruise. Kick off the cobwebs and join the world. You always brag that you can write anywhere. So do it. For the price of a return fare, you can have a brand new office and a sightseeing tour to boot.
Act Out
While you’re out there in the world, pretend you’re Ernest Hemingway. Throw a pipe in the mix and become Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the day. (Just make sure you use some mouthwash before your wife finds out you were smoking!) Dress up and playact while you work. Sit in a flowering garden and pretend you are Emily Post. Whoever your favorite writer is, become them, just for one day. Be your own hero.
Play Head Games
You won’t believe this until you try it and it works. You must have some imagination or you wouldn’t be in this crazy business right, kid? Make believe that you are on a stage in front of a big audience, and you are the entertainment. Go ahead. You’re on a stage. Just you, a wooden table, and your typewriter (okay, your laptop). The audience is waiting. You better type something, fast, before they all ask for a refund. Make sure you look up occasionally and smile. They will nod appreciatively in return, waiting patiently for your next brilliant line. When you’re finished with your article (and it’s all spell-checked), hear the applause in your head. They like you! They really like you!
Sleep It Off
When it gets really bad and your mind is mush, quit. Put down your laptop and back away slowly. You don’t have to be glued to your computer screen all day just to prove to your family that you’re actually working. They think you just play Candy Crush all day, anyway. Many an article has been composed in a writer’s head before they go to sleep or just after they wake up. Spend some quiet time thinking about your assignment. The next time you turn on your PC, the article will already be half-written.
Remember that whatever rut you are in, it’s temporary. One of these ideas will certainly do the trick if you really put your mind to it. That brilliant mind. [Queue applause.]
Kate S is a freelance writer at WriterAccess. She loves it when clients come back for more. She is a big fan of pretending to be a mermaid in the swimming pool, and writing. Mostly writing. The mermaid thing hasn’t really worked out yet.
