Can’t think of anything to write? Obsessed with deleting because you think your writing is rubbish? Bored with writing about the same old subject? You’re not alone. ALL writers face writer’s block at some time or other. Here are 10 ways to help you beat the dreaded ailment.

1. Find the root of the problem. Lack of information, bored with the subject, no new ideas and lost confidence through over criticism are just some of the common causes. You need to establish your problem before you can start to tackle it.

2. Stop trying to write the piece that’s troubling you and write something else. Anything else. Even if it’s only an email to a friend moaning about not being able to write!

3. Keep a writing diary and learn from it. Note what happened in the lead up to the good days, when the words seem to tumble out by themselves, and the bad days, when everything was a struggle.

4. Imagine you’re talking to someone. Tell him/her (out loud if you’re alone or don’t mind talking to yourself in public) what the piece is about. Use your own natural spoken words. Do not try to ‘sound good’.

5. Force yourself to write something (anything) every day. It’s the habit of writing, not the quality, that’s important. The quality will come afterwards in the editing process.

6. Recognise the difference between drafting and editing. The first draft is not supposed to be good. Think of it as the brain dump only. As Hemingway said, the first draft of everything is shit.

7. Come at the subject from a different angle. Stop trying to write it from the point of view of the client/organisation/hero and write it from the point of view of the customer/employee/villain.

8. Ask lots of questions. Don’t settle for the answers to ‘who, what, where and when’. The most interesting stuff comes from asking ‘why’ and ‘how’. For business communications, ask yourself why would my readers be interested in this? How does it benefit them?

9. Use fairy tales or read ‘The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories’ by Christopher Booker to see if what you’re writing about can be adapted to incorporate the theme or storyline of one of the classic plots. News stories often follow the Princess Dragon Hero format whereby a product, service or organisation (the hero) saves a group of people (the princess) by slaying or reducing their problem (the dragon).

10. Give yourself a break. It is the clichéd answer but that’s because it works. Trying too hard or beating yourself up inhibits creativity so give yourself permission not to write. Do something different, ideally something mind-numbingly dull, and let the subconscious take over. Only be careful not to let this become a habit or you’ll then be dealing with another common writing problem – procrastination!

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