by Bruce Ziebarth

Created on: April 16, 2010

Online freelance writing is a great way to supplement your income. It is even possible to replace your full time income completely. Website owners and even bloggers are hungry for new points of view that provide fresh content. While some potential clients offer guidance and subject suggestions, others leave it completely up to the writer. The ability to write on any subject can be very freeing or create an overwhelming writing paralysis. Remembering a few simple strategies can stem away this paralysis, commonly referred to as writer’s block.

Writer’s block can be closely compared to a bulldozer parked across a one-lane bridge. You know that your destination is on the other side of the bulldozer. You survey the land looking for someone to move the bulldozer, but no one is available. You do not have keys to the bulldozer nor can you go around the bulldozer. You just sit there in your car wondering what to do, unable to move the blockage yourself. Clearing writer’s block begins with understanding some common causes.

A common cause of writer’s block is bad timing. Taylor explains, “Perhaps the hardest thing about writing is not knowing what to write. This condition accounts for most instances of writer's block as I've come to understand it.” Often, non-writers believe that writing becomes easier with time. They believe that a writer can be given a subject and simply write an article. However, writing requires a certain level of concentration and creativity. Harnessing our creativity requires a clear mind. A writer’s mind can easily become clouded by daily obligations, appointments, or even simply a favorite TV show.

It is possible to make anytime the right time to write. Often, writers simply need to clear their mind. A great way to clear your mind is to relieve it of the subject at hand. Journaling helps provide our minds with a way of emptying themselves. Taking 5 to 10 minutes to write about anything that comes to your mind will help to work through many blockages. Our minds know that writing an issue down means that we may come back to it later.

Writer’s block may also be caused by starting with the introductory paragraph. Taylor describes the dilemma as, “We know how important the first paragraph is when someone evaluates our work. Yet it's often difficult to write a final version of this crucial paragraph until the rest of the piece is done or close to it. That's because the first paragraph must set the

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