Tips for Writer's Block?

[rew tracy]

I was just curious about how others manage to get over writer's block? When you're pressed for time, it can be a real hassle when your brain screeches to a halt.

For myself...
- walking outside works really well. I let my brain wander, and when I pass by houses or constructions sites, quite often different ideas will pop up.
- I also check out real estate news sites and the forums here to see what real estate professionals are talking about.
- I'll watch real estate shows on the weekends if I'm really stuck .
- Brainstorming ridiculous article ideas (the nuttier the better) can help get my brain unstuck and rediscover the fun side of writing. Eventually it may lead me to a topic that I can actually write about.
-And of course, talking to homeowners helps too. Hearing about the adventures of property owners can be a real source of inspiration.

If you have any tricks you use, I would love to hear about them

[rew cheryl]

Sometimes I go outside and shoot tin cans off the balcony wall in the parkade for 15 minutes or so. This usually helps

[kevinhuntley]

Writers block, tell me about it I have had it since high school. I can't seem to write anything these days and to top it off I don't have the time either. Good luck with your writing I know mine needs it.

[rew tracy]

Sometimes I go outside and shoot tin cans off the balcony wall in the parkade for 15 minutes or so. This usually helps

AWESOME.

[rew valerie]

I like Cheryl's shooting tin can solution. My answer isn't nearly as much fun. I do the outside walk thing, sometimes that helps. When I have a subject, but I just can't get into the writing part, I'll just start writing in point form and gradually work myself up to full sentences. I sort of trick my brain into thinking ok, no pressure, let's just jot down some notes, then before you know it, my writer's ego takes over and starts to elaborate.

[seo matt]

Yeah my solution is similar to Val's. For topic ideas I also like reading things that are loosely connected to my subject and try to make associative leaps, like "Britney Spears Meltdown - Real Estate!" or something along those lines.

[rew tracy]

Britney's meltdown and the downturn of the real estate market -coincidence? I think not.

[rew rose]

Ya, reading things that aren't specific to real estate will often give me ideas, and that's not just my excuse for random net surfing.
I will think of something I'm interested in (besides real estate) that can be adapted to a real estate theme. For example, I'm an artist, so I'll do a bit of research on colour theory or design/architectural trends, new materials, etc. (but don't worry, I spell it color for our U.S. customers)
Also, I look to my own experience. I have pets, and they can impact my property big time, so they are a source of inspiration sometimes. Also, I do own a home, so have some of my own experiences with buying and owning to draw from there. The struggles of not owning real estate could similarly inspire. If you're a tenant, you may have insight in to the challenges of owning rental property, even if it's from the "other side".
But I also read real estate news online, and in my local paper and such. I don't have cable, so I am saved from watching real estate tv shows. Being a writer rather than a real estate expert, I am always needing to do a bit of research to be sure I am right about things. Sometimes even seeing a word defined, like in the real estate wiki, etc, will inspire me to write about that topic. Being a writer and researcher, you learn to be good at writing like a know it all about something you just learned.

[Smuck]

Hmm, I have a confession to make on this. I pay some guy from the Philippines to write the gist of the article. I pay $3.00 per article. I get articles back with grammatical errors, but the article gets me through the writers block part of the writing. I simply provide the topic, and they run with it. Once I get the article back, I simply edit them and away I go.

Certainly part of the reason we have 500ish web pages, 225ish Squidoo pages, several websites, and a couple thousand blog entries out there.

And no, I'm not giving out my grammatically deficient foreign writer's name!

[SEO Nick]

I've actually heard somewhere that Doodling on a piece of paper is a good method of relaxing your mind and coming up with something. I had a teacher in highschool who believed this.

Needless to say, I drew a lot in class.