How to Break the Block: A Simple Writing Guide for Beginners

Whether you are a beginner at article writing or just need to submit an essay for your class, and are struggling to interpret your ideas onto paper (or should I say, screen), then I hope that with this short writing guide I might be able to help you to some extent to finally break through the shield formed between your brain and your computer keyboard.

You might take comfort in knowing that even the most experienced, professional authors go through "writer's block", which is what happens when you are stuck and no longer know what to write, or how to finish the story you've put so much effort into writing.

There are several reasons and circumstances for getting writer's block, but for students or people who are just starting out at writing, the main reason could be that you are probably attempting to begin writing a paper without doing any preliminary work.

Research and brainstorming are the most crucial factors when writing an informative article.

A topic must be studied to some extent before anyone can attempt to write anything about it. Do as much online and offline research as possible on the subject you are trying to write about, and take notes.

Don't Forget To Carry A Writing Pad At All Times!

It's a good idea to carry a notebook wherever you go because you never know when you might have a jolt of inspiration, and you don't want to forget about your idea later when you get the chance to go to your computer. You might be driving down the freeway and see a billboard that reminds you of something you read somewhere. You want to write down whatever it is that you remembered as soon as you get a chance to pull over. Or you might just be sitting at a coffee bar and overhear the people at your neighboring table say something that brings about a stream of thoughts flowing through your creative mind. Get your notepad and write down even if it's just a few words or paragraphs that you can supplement later when you get to your pc. The point here is not to forget later what it is that you just thought of.

Information Overload Can Bun You Out.

You know, sometimes information or ideas sink in only a few days after having read something and this could happen due to information overload. I'm sure this has happened to many of us at some point of our writing endeavor. You are doing so much research on something that at the end of the day you might feel burned out. So, if you're feeling exhausted then it's best you don't press yourself too much or you might make your situation worse and bring on the "writer's block".

Give it a rest for a while, but just be sure to always have your notepad readily available so you can always jot down important points.

After you have taken all the notes you believe necessary, it is then time to make an outline by breaking all the main topics into a list.

You need to put the information in a sequence that will make sense. But at first it's good if you just make a list of the main points you want to go into your essay/article, and then go on to re-arranging them in a logical order.

Now you are ready to start developing each topic based on all the research you've done and all the notes you've taken.

When you're done writing it's time to connect all the paragraphs so that one leads to the next.

If you follow this simple guide and try not to over think the situation you should be able to write a decent article.

You can always go back and re-write something that for some reason you don't like in a different way, using different words, or add or subtract a few words here and there; find synonyms to replace repeated words, etc.

The most important point is that you have written your essay or paper, which is the hardest part. Re-arranging paragraphs and words later is a piece of cake.

Quick Writing Checklist

So, just to quickly go over the main items mentioned above, here's a quick check list to help break the writer's block and prepare you for writing the perfect paper:

-Brainstorm the subject. Do lots of research, both online and offline.

-Make a list of important and relevant points that you want to elaborate on.

-Re-arrange the list in a logical sequence.

-Start developing each point according to the research you've done.

-Review for final arrangement of sequence, words and paragraphs.

-Print!

And remember to always carry a writing pad!

Write On!