A recent post on Lifehacker, Beat Writer's Block with Email Drafts, is a very interesting approach for beating writer's block. And it really does work, too.

Here's the idea. When you go to write something - perhaps a new article or blog post, often times it's hard to get your mind in the right "zone." The idea may be "crystal clear" in your head, but getting it on paper is the tough part.

• Which words do you choose?
• How should you begin the article?
• What external sources should you refer to?
• Should you keep it simple and informative, or go into excessive details?

The problem is, we tend to write with the end-product already in mind by trying to make everything perfect. This really inhibits us from jumping right in, since we're so concerned with the final outcome.

All of these questions hit you at once, before anything is written. They all beg an answer, but the trouble is, answers to those questions are irrelevant in the beginning. The best way to write is to just spill it all out, then go back and proof-read, fix mistakes, structure, etc.

One way to "trick" your brain into thinking the article is less important than it really is, is to pretend your simply writing about the subject to a friend who'd be interested in the topic. Start an email draft and begin writing everything. Don't worry about punctuation, structure, etc. Just spill it all out.

If you can, at least, do this, you've just beat writer's block. Take that email draft and begin fine-tuning it. You'll quickly realize that your article is already taking shape.

Other techniques

I can't help but exclaim how perfect services like Twitter are for writer's block. Since Twitter forces brevity (your post can only be 140 characters max), as well as spontaneity, it removes the pressure and expectations of writing. Your writing becomes impulsive and unexpected. This is a perfect way to begin a draft of an article - uninhibited thoughts.