This is a guest post by Leigh Peele, one of the very first graduates of Blog Mastermind who went on to build a successful online business powered by her blog.
Writers block can be a nasty bug to catch. An equally nasty bug can be wading hour after hour over material that just isn’t coming out of you. The next thing you know, you have spent an entire work day filled with worrying and nothing to show for it.
The goal of this article is to not only help you snap out of writers block, but to help you hand yourself a completed article in 15 minutes.
1. Have A Title List
There are some people who enjoy an idea sheet, but I am not a fan those unless specific. Instead, I like a title sheet. While they may seem like the same thing, there is a distinctive difference. Here is an example –
Idea sheet: Write an article about blogging traffic
Title sheet: 10 Ways To Get Traffic (You Didn’t Know About)
By having the specific title it automatically inspires you to pour out the words. In fact, I am inspired to write the article above right now. Always be specific. Allowing for fewer choices will make for quicker decisions.
2. Borrow Ideas From Other People
Now wait, before you think I am suggesting something unethical, give me a moment. All your work should be 100% yours. That being said, you can get phenomenal ideas reading other people’s work. Here are a few ways you can turn their work into your own:
- Dig deeper than they did
- Elaborate where they did not
- Debate against what they wrote
- Get inspired by a similar topic
Most ideas do not need complete reinvention. Most ideas just need a little inspiration.
3. Lists And Bullet Points
People have thousands of distractions to choose from every day. Since you have a short time to capture their attention, you can keep it uncluttered with lists. Why do lists work so well?
- They keep information concise
- They attract the eye
- They help with compression
- They make points stronger and more urgent
The lists above speak for themselves.
4. Write In An Editor Program
If you need to edit frequently before you publish, save yourself the time and write the article in the editor. It may seem straightforward, but having a program automatically spell checking and looking for errors saves you a lot of time. There are free document editors like Google Docs or one I mentioned in a previous article called Grammarly.
5. Pictures And Links Say 1,000 Words
One of the easiest articles to write is a link or picture article. You can point to other people’s work, blogs or affiliate promotions. This is a terrific way to build relationships with your peers while also providing quality information to your readers. You can also use this to make “Best of” or “Top 10” articles featuring pictures and short captions as the majority of the content.
6. Get Worked Up
Excitement over a subject is the best way to let the “ink flow.” If you are excited about what you are writing, the session will fly by quickly. Excitement can present itself in all types of forms, such as happiness or debate. Don’t be afraid to walk away from an article because it isn’t working or you are bored. You can always go back to it later if you feel the inspiration has returned.
7. Block Out The World
You can’t write quickly if the TV is on or your phone is getting 20 text messages. If you take the time to devote your undivided attention to your article, you will have more time for the funnier things in life. Remember what mom said, “You can’t go outside and play with your toys until you finish your homework!”
8. Learn To Quote
Plagiarism isn’t cool, but quoting someone’s work is. Often someone can say something you want to say better. They can also say something you would like to debate. Whatever your stance, don’t be afraid to use large quotes from other sources and write about how it makes you feel. You can instantly turn up a 1,000 word article when you only had to write 200 words on your own.
9. Stop Overthinking It
Simple is smart. Quick is good. Don’t try to turn your article into something it isn’t just to make it different or longer. The best ideas genuinely can be the simplest ones.
10. Keep Your Hand On The Pulse Of The World
What are people talking about? What do others want to read about? Pay attention to what people are questioning this week or what they are up in arms about. From day to day people have different needs and individual struggles. A fast article can be putting their thoughts and concerns in your own words.
11. Keep A Pad With You At All Times
Ideas strike you like a bolt of lightning. While writing this article alone, I have been struck with three ideas. I took a quick moment to write them down on the pad beside of me. When I am done with this article, I will have more ideas to choose from. I will look over my article title list and decide which one I feel like writing about the most.
If you utilize these tips, you will have a more successful (and less stressful) article writing experience.
Leigh Peele
These are very detail list Yaro~ Thanks for the post. 😀
Gonna apply these tips and skills in my writing. 😀
Oh ! Thanks Leigh Peele for writing this post. 😀 It is great. 😀
Great article Leigh. Title list instead of idea list – that’s solid point. Duly noted. Overthinking is one of my problems. Lists and Bulletpoints – always a winner.
Thank you yet another informational post Leigh. These tips are really very helpful.
Very useful tips – straight and to the point. Thanks for sharing them.
Best regards
Robert
Well said, I definitely agree with your post. Actually, when you are just alone in one corner and suddenly an idea can just pop up in your mind without you expecting. Like what you’ve said always keep a pad with you so it would be easy to just jot down those ideas you have. It’s not actually hard to write an article all you just need is focus and of course always be interested in all the things surround you and be observant.
Very informative post. This 15 minutes posts are very important if you are doing article marketing
Hi Leigh,
This is a great article. I’ve been using an idea list, however it usually doesn’t get past my blackberry or note pad. I definitely think a title list would be more beneficial. All 11 tips I can use and simplify things. In the past it’s taken several hours or maybe even a course of a few days to finalize my thoughts for a blog post.
Thanks so, so much!
Tiffany
Hi Tiffany,
FYI, I wanted to visit your website but you misspelled ‘com’ on your address. You might want to correct it. I find myself mispelling my own blog sometimes so dont’ feel bad!
Hi Leigh,
It’s good to see you branching out. I’ve been a follower of your fitness site and it seems like you have a lot of insight into the blogging/Internet marketing space as well..I look forward to reading more from you.
Great article, but the danger of Bullet Points should also be pointed out. The list should attract attention and be visibly attractive. Too many people just tend to throw anything they can think of into such lists.
I’m new at blogging, but love to write and your article is a wonderful reminder of how I can be even better. I always keep a pen and pad around to jot down ideas as they pop into my head. Thanks for a super article.
These are awesome tips. Thanks for sharing them. I am very bad at coming up with titles, but I see what you mean about getting instant ideas from a direct title rather than a vague idea.
In regards to keeping a notepad, that is a brilliant thing to do. I saw this first hand when I had the privilege to go to a sporting event and was near a media person, throughout the event they kept notes on notepad and later on made an article from those observations, much better than having to memorize on your own or recapping the day from your mind.
Till then,
Jean
Thanks for the useful tips again. Clear and concise is the key
Hi Leigh, Funnily enough I have just made an outline on this very topic for my next blog post. I am comforted to know that many people suffer from the same(LOL) … and just last week I found great comfort in reading another post about the very topic.
This prompted me to think about what I have found helpful and over the last couple of days have carried a note pad with me continually. I now have enough ideas to keep me going for weeks – because it became abundantly clear to me that ideas come when I least expect it… ie: unloading the dishwasher, or Vacuuming.
I have then found that it’s easier for me if I revert back to my school days (providing memory serves me correctly from all that time ago!)… and making an outline really helps me.
I loved your tips. It’s always interesting to pick up tidbits of information from other people. Thanks so much. Jayne
the first thing i noticed about this article is that title is very attractive 😀
i needed that article because of my busy schedule, thanks yaro 🙂
Thanks for the great post. I think it is a complete book with 11 chapters.
Saif
It’s a nice idea but having experimented with balancing excellent contact with productivity 15 minutes really doesn’t give you very much time. 45-60 minutes is probably a better benchmark, unless of course you are late for the next Jack Bauer instalment.
As you said in point 9, I always end up over-doint it..lol. My short 400 words articles turn out to be 1400 or more. But the good thing is that then I break it up into 4 or 5 diff articles.
Thanks for reminding though 😉
I think we can learn alot just from the way this blog posted has been organised…in bullet list format and list.
I have gone into EA and had a look at what articles have the highest views….they are always formulated into headlines such as “5 quick tips to lose your love handles for Christmas” and then you go into your body copy and give them step 1) , Step 2) and step 3) and so on.
Just like this blog post has been organised. It truely works. I think people react and read something that is laid out in a more “look use this simple step by step plan”
Like everyone else said, great list. I like the title ’11 tips…..’, the unusual number makes you want to read the article. Like someone else said, you could turn this into a money making ebook! Ray
Hello Leigh,
Lists are great, they are fairly easy to construct, provide links and a quick blurb about the site you are linking to, hey presto, instant articles. I use the list method a lot in my article marketing but not so much on my blog, need to change that.
I find having a title helps me write, makes it easier to find the words.
Pete
Make sure to have unique articles. More unique articles more traffic. Google loves unique articles.
I have found a title list helps me and then when I need a break or have some time I do google searches for some research and see what others are saying about what I want to write about. When stumped I will use the positives and negatives of what others are saying to form my post.
I like the idea of borrowing ideas from other blogs 😛
All of these are great tips, but here’s a killer tip that I use to make article writing even FASTER: Create your own templates!
Creating templates can help me crank out articles quick. I have “How to” templates and others, such as “5 Tips, 10 tips, 3 Tips”, etc. All you have to do is take your info that’s researched and craft it around your templates. This way, you can crank out articles faster.
Even when I consider all of these points, I still can’t write an article in 15 minutes. Maybe I’m just not a good writer.
Hey Nice tips at all. If your article has unique content then you can get more and more benefit from that like more quality links as well as traffic.
These are Excellent Tips to Write Effective Article. I can easily write an article in just 10 minutes.
Many marketers have writer’s block and they feel “frozen”, when they try to write.
Thanks for the tips, Leigh.
Thanks Leigh, those are some really useful, practical tips.
I really liked the differentiation between the idea sheet and the title sheet.
Also liked “Don’t try to turn your article into something it isn’t just to make it different or longer” which is something I feel many writers do, which lowers the quality of their work.
~ Rory
Nice post as always leigh. My tip would be to do a brainstorm and whenever you have an idea is to go on your blog and write a draft post that you would later publish for real. Whenver you have an idea for a post, write it folks!
Excellent tips for writing an article in 15 minutes. I am going to use these ideas for my next project.
Thanks for sharing this pointers Leigh. I like your “Simple is smart. Quick is good.” This was my common mistake before, I keep on overthinking. But now, I would write when I feel like I want to write, the title list is really a good idea.
Simple is smart. Hi Leigh,
I think it is time people must retire from old writing methods. You only need to know your audience and give them what they want.
Thanks for the great material. With years I’ve created my own method of writing. Maybe somebody figure out its too, or even I heard about it but dont remember, its not valuable. I called it “passive thinking”. First off all I write short plan and thoughts about topic I choose. Then all the day I busy my usual staff I add Ideas about my writing. In the evening I write a draft. In the morning I correct my writings. Usually Articles written this way much better the written in one time. But also You need much more time.
Ps sorry My English
Thanks Leigh, This is a great article and very rewarding. I’ve spent the last few days trying to figure what to write about since i’ve been writing 2 articles per day for the past months. Reading your insight have nourished that dryness i’m experience in my writing life and i can’t just thank you enough. Thanks again.