Cat got your tongue? Or your fingers? Suffering a serious case of writer’s block? Impossible. Writer’s block’s doesn’t exist.

You may think you’re blocked, but can you write a grocery list, an email to your mother, a love letter? Unless both of your hands are broken, chances are you can still write. The problem is simply with quality, not necessarily quantity.

Whether we’re working on the great American novel, an online post or a business report, we all have had times when our production slowed down and we felt at a loss for just the right words. That’s not the time to say we’re blocked,  to lament we’re not Hemingway or even Grisham and flip from MSWord to Angry Birds .

You can work your way out of it—and quickly—with my method for getting the words to start flowing. I developed the following techniques over many years and included them in my first book, Write Like the Pros, published by John Wiley & Sons. Some of the suggestions are shortcuts taken from journalists, others are just common sense ways to help you relax and practice. Continue Reading →