4 Steps to Beating Writer’s Block

write-all-the-things

A huge part of PR is writing about diverse clients, products and use case to the media. If you’re as fortunate as we are to have an incredibly interesting roster, that process is generally not too difficult. However, there are times when you’re just struggling to come up with something that persuasively articulates your point in the most effective way.  When that happens, it’s important to take a step back and regroup. Following are a few of our favorite ways to beat writer’s block:

  • 10-minute writing prompt – To help clear your mind, spend 10 minutes writing about something completely unrelated to your work. Start with a sentence like “The brick crashed through the window” and see where your mind takes you for the next ten minutes. Other starter sentences include
    • “I can’t believe it,” she said.
    • He opened the check made out in his name, and it said $1 million.
    • She hadn’t laughed that hard in months.

** A twist on this is to step away from the computer and pick up a pen and get old school with it!

  • Plug in – If your office is anything like ours, there can be a lot of noise between phone calls with journalists and clients, lively brainstorming sessions in the conference room and water cooler discussions about Jimmy Kimmel’s latest viral video. Getting out the headphones and either putting on your favorite music or just blocking out the noise can be the remedy for writing a dazzling pitch or press release.
  • Clean – The life of a PR pro often means that there are slide decks, spreadsheets, fact sheets, notes and a sea of post-it notes on your desk. Your inbox is also probably full of client and journalist correspondence, competitor’s newsletters and Google Alerts. Take a few minutes to file the physical papers and the emails you don’t need anymore. The literal and figurative “clean house” will also let you approach your writing with a clear mind.
  • Chew gum. Yep, it’s science.

Happy writing!