I know there are many people out there who struggle with writer's block or just the pressure to achieve something good others expect of you, or what you simply has grown accustomed to expect of yourself. Of course we learn from reading what others write, but there is a difference in being inspired and writing something similar, and actually learning the process and thereby being able to create something unique or have an open dialogue with proper referencing, debating an issue.
The majority uses the process of trying, discarding and retrying, perhaps writing a couple of different drafts before choosing to upload or publish the text. Some just writes because it has become something we do on our blogs and status-updates. There is nothing wrong with writing a lot of examples before a "good enough" comes through. In fact the first ones are to be seen as a staircase onto the final draft. The professional is the one who can choose and let go of the others.
I am blessed to have another process and have not experienced any type of writer's block since 1996. Writing has been very natural to me, and of course being brought up by a published author and receiving my first type-writer when I was 10 years old, obviously helped. But the real break-through came during my final semester while attending Bergh's school of Communication in Copywriting 1994.
I had a beloved mentor (not to mention the awe and respect by those in the business upon completing one of Sweden's most prestigious private schools in the creative field, but the advertising business is still dirty) who put me to the test by asking me to write an ad for IKEA based on promoting their quality-testing (which was an account he had) and I stayed the whole night in our class-room, faxing one headline after the other, only to hear neither was working. I became tired, frustrated, angry and wondered why he couldn't just tell me what was wrong or what I should do instead, you know like a teacher would. He said: "I could but then I would spoil the greatest gift you will ever receive through your own discovery and I want you to have it, because I believe in your talent." Finally, I got it. The headline went: "In our couches, everyone can play". It might not seem particularly brilliant but he loved it because I had been able to capture IKEA's soul and thus learned the secret, to not describe, but to gestate.
It took me another couple of years of constant pressure and low self-confidence until I was able to rest in my own process and trust myself enough to know that I can ALWAYS deliver a good text. Henri died suddenly of a heart-attack in 1996, just two days after we have decided to complete our mentor-adept relationship. It was as if he knew because he told me with sadness that the little bird was ready to leave the nest on her own and made me promise to forward our shared wisdom to the next generation.
Two weeks later I was sitting on my floor, with his book and thumbprint on a post-it note (It was a funny little thing he did instead of signing a message.) in my hand and crying, wondering how on Earth I could continue becoming a good writer without him. His spirit made a presence and it was the first time I felt I could really recognize and communicate with a passed-over spirit and after that day, everything in my writing changed for the better. What would Henri do?
1. Gather information if needed.
2. Process the information and summarize it.
3. Let it sit.
4. Let it sit some more. A cake that is prematurely taken out of the oven will become flat.
5. Decide what the message is, why it needs to be said and to whom.
6. Let go completely of your own self-importance as the Messenger.
7. Tune in to the emotion that you want your message to evoke. If you want to be funny, you must find a reason to be laughing before you start writing. If you want to be sexy, tune in to your own horny-ness. If you want to provoke, tune into your critical self. If you want to move, tune into the vulnerability within your heart.
8. Have the message clear in your head first or simply surrender to the Holy Spirit and let the words flow out of you naturally without effort.
9. Sit down and write it in the same tone of voice your readers use.
And it is done.
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