Do you suffer from writer's block? Share your tips!!!

I love writing but suffer from a chronic case of writer's block. What do you do to avoid this situation? Do you brainstorm or keep a small notebook? What are your secrets to writing a lot and avoid wasting time over thinking about what are you going to write? Any rituals like drinking coffee, tea or yoga before writing? 

Sometimes I'll journal. Once I start writing, ideas pop out.

Sometimes I'll read other people's articles. I might glean an idea as sort of a response to some comment.

To be honest, I never run short of ideas, they're just not always great ideas! My problem is knowing what I want to write about but struggling to concentrate long enough to articulate (in any coherent way) what exactly it is that I'm trying to get across.  When this happens I just start the article, keep on writing even it's rubbish, until I'm focused. Then I edit, edit, edit!

I would love not to be out of ideas! I don't have really a block, just nothing in my head to write about. Once I get the idea, I'm off and running.

I'd pop into our Wizzley Contests forum and see if the lure of some extra $$ would help overcome the block... ;)

I've been thinking about this, and know exactly where I'd recommend but I'd need pictures and my kids are older now and wouldn't want to go. Have been seriously thinking about whose kids I could borrow for the day, the experience and the pictures!

Never had kids. Can't relate.

I used to take my kids here all the time when they were little. It was free admission (they also used to have a number of working looms!) and very children centric. I'd look a bit odd going on my own, it's mostly for kids, but very interesting. I need to borrow some kids!

http://www.visitmanchester.com/articles/attractions/mosi-museum-of-science-and-industry/

wow writers block is something I'm nowhere near... time, now that's a problem- If your here to write to earn money use amazon as a highway of products to write about/review- find something cool, like bouncehouses, write about the history or use or benefits of bounce houses - then it's just about researching it. Google bounce house history... for example... and there you go.

You have an article with good researched information on a cool thingamagig, and you have ample opportunity to lace ads around it from amazon (since you got the idea there you will find a lot of great products to showcase what your talking about i.e. how bouncehouses have evolved...) the trick then is to be clever with your writing so it's sculpted to not feel like an ad but to intrigue potential buyers of the products, and for the products to appear mainly like image examples of the concepts in your article...

Here are a few examples I used this technique to create (and I've since used this as an inspiration to write new product based articles- the real money makers- from amazon's spam emails (upselling other products or similar products from what you've looked at before... finding a product first helps because you can figure out the angle and story from that. Ask yourself, What do the product owners need to know about it? What cool history does it have? If you owned it what would you want to know about it? Need to know? think like a consumer not an internet marketer- in that I choose only products I myself think are cool so I will write well about it and intrigue my readers (hopefully)... most of the time you can find great info in a google search of "[keyword] history" or cool things about [keyword]" and so on (keyword being your product or topic).

http://wizzley.com/dragon-naturally-speaking/  Technically written after Night Owl posted, but found on amazon I decided to give potential dragon users the back history and intriguing information on the software many don't know...

http://wizzley.com/star-wars-force-glove/  Found the product in an amazon spam email but also saw it mentioned on mashable- but they gave it 1 paragraph, so I wrote collage of what new age toys are coming and how teaching toys are useful and educational

http://wizzley.com/forever-lazy-snuggie/  I own one but when I found out via an amazon spam mail that they had em on amazon, I decided to write the review and company history (which is fun)...

http://wizzley.com/learn-klingon-language/  

http://wizzley.com/cool-walkie-talkie/ (amazon spam mail prompted me to look into "spy" bluetooth walkies... and I found some amazing stuff and thus this article about several types of headsets was born... sometimes just collage several of the same products together- I wrote about the history of the walkie talkie 

http://wizzley.com/how-to-restore-your-lava-lamp-to-new-when-cloudy-and-useless/  I wanted to offer lava lamps of the coolest kinds, so I wrote about lava lamp restoration, some will want to know the informationa nd feel more comfortable with their investment so they may buy one on the page (and lava lamp aquariums!)

http://wizzley.com/slipcovers-parsons-chairs/

If you want to write about something not product based you can find inspiration by googling terms then going to the images (images.google.com) section of the search and just scroll about until something of intrest happens. I also use Youtube to inspire me to write about something, I google/youtube search terms and click the videos (takes you to youtube essentialy). Many of my articles started from intrigue videos I saw, and even incorporated into the article. That stimulated intrest which stimulated research then a wizzle is born.

Hope this helps... 

Great suggestions and tips I know this thread will be useful for many writers including me. I have been using amazon as an inspiration to write about products lately. My next pages will probably be based around products with tips and other linkable content. Maybe "how to" or "evolution of" type of content. I like to write a minimum of 800 words in every page and that sometimes blocks me. Product reviews may help me fill gaps on some topics such as clothes and jewelry where I get blocked almost instantly even when I know what to write about and what I want to communicate. I normally feel happy when my pages have more than 1000 words in them.

When I started article writing I did have a flow problem and when a paragraph was finished many times the sentences had poor grammar and made even poorer sense. 

After about fifty articles you will find that writing will be easier. I guess practice and experience is the key if you are new to writing. You will also start finding your writing personalty and confidence making everything easier.

I always get familiar with my subject by reading about it, absorb the information from various sources and the words come easier when it is time to put it down in my own words. It is advisable to choose subjects you are interest in and/or have experience with. 

This topic has been brought up before and back then I pointed to one of my articles (written elsewhere I'm afraid): http://humagaia.hubpages.com/hub/Subjects-to-Write-About

That may help you - at least to jolt an idea out of the depths of your subconscious.

Switch gears and think about something you're dying to know, learn, do. For instance, if you have writer's block and need to step away from the computer - and could take the day to do or learn anything - what would it be?

Some examples:

Maybe a loved one has diabetes and you've been meaning to look up alternative therapies, but haven't had the time.

Maybe you are wanting to take a canoe trip in Alaska next summer.

Maybe your dog needs a bath, nails clipped, etc.

So you look up your "thing" (let's say it is the Alaska canoe trip thing) and as you are doing your research, you now have TONS of information to write about...like (making this up, by the way):

1. Best lightweight canoes
2. Best places to canoe in Alaska
3. Gear to bring on a canoe trip
4. How to find cheap transportation to Alaska
5. How to budget for a canoe trip

on and on it goes...you kill two birds with one stone...plan some "me time" on the computer, while gathering tons of topic articles that can be easily written, because it is fresh in your mind.

This can even be as simple as feeling you really need to clean your car, bumper to bumper, Do a whole series on "how to clean your tires" and "how to clean car upholstery" - taking pics as you go...there's at least 5 articles there and you can put Amazon car products in for affiliate income.

Hope this helps!