Good Morning, Class!
Have I got a treat for you.
Patricia will be your substitute teacher (guest writer) today. You know Patricia. She’s the one who uses a ladybug as an avatar and shares what she’s learned through the years on her blog, “Patricia’s Wisdom”.
Please take your seats and try to behave as we listen to Patricia’s lesson.
Hello Patricia.
The floor is yours.
I have just spent the past 4 days helping four students stay on task and finish writing final exams. All four have been stuck at various points of their writing. Three are writers.
I have struggled and gotten all stopped up in my writing at times and this process has cost me dearly, so I thought I would share a few pearls that have come by my way and have provided relief.
Today’s Lesson
When you find yourself doing everything possible to avoid writing, or you find yourself staring at the paper and unable to think, here are some suggestions to give you a jump start.
Remember from inertia It takes massive amounts of energy to get moving. This is a law of physics. By the habit of writing daily, I keep the momentum going. Every day I write without exception, thus the hand and mind are in motion for conjuring up words and there is little hesitation.
Do silly things! My oldest daughter taught me this lesson by asking me at bedtime to make up a song. These songs were sometimes country western, sometimes opera, and on topics such as the alligator under the bed, window shades, how awful it is to have little sisters, and friends. Unless I was in the depths of exhaustion being silly lightened our spirits and made a pleasant journey for our dreams ahead. Also that she would pick a topic, made the songs a test of my thinking, rhyming and creating.
Figure out the best way to let go of toxic thinking Each person has their own distinct style. Here are some toxic things I have heard this past week: “I was failing this class 2 months ago so I have to write an A paper now.”, “This is my final essay for college so I want it to be the best I have ever written.”, “ I think this topic is so stupid, I just want to not think about it anymore.” , and my favorite, “I am not very good at this subject and the Prof will hate my writing so I should just take an F and not do it.”
My best tactic is to turn the statement around and repeat many times “This subject is so important the world needs to know my opinion and ideas – right now!” Or, “I am going to show how smart I am and how this topic should be tackled.” You can always ask yourself questions, too.
Just Do It! Start out with your toxic thinking and just push on. Write about your toe jam….log jam….strawberry jam: do not even take a bathroom break – just do it. It will give you lots to delete when you edit and maybe get you laughing when you’re all done.
Today’s Assignment
Do you find yourself getting stuck when writing your blog posts?
What is your favorite method of getting unstuck?
Got any special tricks we should know?
The comment section is open for all replies or suggestions for how to get silly, break through writer’s block and/or let go of toxic thinking.
Write on!
Photo Credit prinsipe boobooy








Hi. I'm Barbara Swafford & I'd like to welcome you to Blogging Without A Blog. Grab a seat, share your thoughts and join in the conversation. 


Last week we discussed how many of us are blogoholics and spend massive amounts of time blogging. Although blogging is a great hobby, it can interfere with our daily lives.
Decreasing the amount of time we spend blogging can not only improve our real life social skills, but can free up more time to spend on other goals.
Today’s Lesson
Like many of you, I need to become efficient in my blogging activities. Listed below are five tips I’ve come up with for streamlining our blogging routines.
Set a timer when visiting blogs in your reader
Although I don’t do this each time I visit the blogs in my reader, when I do, it makes me realize how fast an hour passes when I’m reading other blogs and commenting.
Answer your comments less often
If you’re receiving a steady stream of comments, let them build up before joining in. Often commenters will “feed” off each other and an interesting discussion can ensue.
Pick one or two favorite social networking sites
Each time we add another social networking site to our list, it eats into our blogging time. Use the ones you enjoy the most and discard the rest.
Write when creativity strikes
Bloggers often have spurts of creativity followed by dry spells. When creative juices are flowing, write several posts at once. When the dry spells hit, we have something to fall back on.
Post date your articles
For those using WordPress, we can take advantage of the post date feature on our WordPress blog. In WordPress 2.5.1, the option is under “Edit” of your “write” screen.
Today’s Assignment
How do you streamline your blogging time?
Can you add other suggestions to the list?
Feel free to join in the conversation, share your time saving tips, or let us know how ideas posted by others will help you.
.
Photo Credit: AMANITO’s photostream