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

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Tracy Boutin | Copywriter
tracy@realestatewebmasters.com
250.753.9893

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

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.

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Bellingham Homes For Sale
Bellingham MLS

AWESOME.

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Tracy Boutin | Copywriter
tracy@realestatewebmasters.com
250.753.9893

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.

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.

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

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Tracy Boutin | Copywriter
tracy@realestatewebmasters.com
250.753.9893

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.

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!

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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.

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Nicholas May
Creative Linking Team
Real Estate Webmasters