By: Holly Spangler, AAEA 2014 Past President

Looking for irony? I was asked to write about overcoming writer’s block, and I’m writing this at 9:48 p.m. on a Wednesday night. Well past deadline. So if you’re questioning whether I’m the right person to write this, you’re right on.

But here’s what I know: every single writer struggles occasionally with writer’s block. It’s hard to get started. Or figure out where to start. Or what to say. Or how to say it.

Years ago at an Ag Media Summit, I attended a presentation from the Poynter Institute (guaranteed winner for usable tips) and the instructor dropped this little bomb: of course it’s hard to write. You’re about to embark on a process that shares your heart. Sometimes a lot of your heart. Will people read it? Will they like it? Will they like me? Will they write me letters and tell me I’m dumb? You’re about to become very vulnerable and that’s risky.

Of course it is. Because we lay ourselves bare every time we take pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard. Writer’s block might actually be the only rational response. But I’ve found a few tricks for working through it and meeting the deadline.

  1. Accept the vulnerability. Know that you’re going to do this hard thing, and it’s ok to feel daunted by it. Acknowledge the degree of difficulty before diving in.
  2. Read good writing. If ever I’m stumped, I read good writing. If it’s a column I need to write, I pull out one of three volumes of Anna Quindlen’s columns. I keep them on my desk and they never fail to inspire to write more vividly, more concisely and more directly. Before writing a recent profile, I pulled out last year’s winning stories in AAEA’s profile category. They’re on the website and it’s incredibly handy. You can find one for whatever kind of story you’re working on.
  3. Tell someone about your story. This is a trick as old as time but it works. I’ll talk to my farmer husband about a story that I can’t quite get my head around and before the conversation is over, I’ve got a lead and a main point sorted out – just by talking it out loud. He should probably be paid more.
  4. Find the most compelling part. Think about what you’d tell someone first about the story. What’s the most interesting, compelling nugget? That’s your lead.
  5. Procrastinate a little. That same Poynter presenter shared a fascinating bit of information: before she writes, she checks Twitter. Then Facebook. Then Instagram. Then circles back to Twitter. Then maybe reads a blog. Then Facebook again. At one point she felt guilty about all that procrastinating but then she realized: it was her process. It was what she had to do to quiet her brain and settle into writing. No more guilt. The procrastination was actually the beginning of the process.
  6. Find your writing time. Mike Wilson once told me that every writer has a peak time of day for writing. Figure out what time that is for you and write something at that time every day. Even if it’s just an email. Write something that flexes the writing muscle. Then, on the days when you have to write a story for real, your writing muscle is ready to roll.

Holly Spangler is an executive editor with Farm Progress and an editor of Prairie Farmer Magazine.