In yesterday's post, I went on about my fetish for bound sketchbooks and notebooks but didn't explain why I really use them. One writing trick I learned, although the source escapes me, is that when you have a writing block, change your perspective. This means that if you're working at home, go take a walk outside, watch TV, listen to the radio, change the music you're listening to, move from where you're sitting to another location in the same room. If you're not listening to music, put some on. If you're listening to music, turn to some radio talk show. In other words, mentally and physically change your perspective in hopes of sparking some writing ideas.

I add to this list these perspective changes... If you're typing, take out a pen or a pencil and start hand-writing. If you're hand-writing, sketch a few pictures. If you're writing technical content, write something creative, something inspirational. Using a pen or pencil, as I'm probably going to repeat many times, massages acupuncture points in your palm. Some of these points soothe you, others stimulate your thinking. After years of writing, picking up a pen and paper and first doodling, then writing down a list of topics has never failed me for catalyzing story/ article/ blog post ideas.

Change of perspective means gaining an alternate viewpoint, which may lead you to an idea that you may not otherwise have. What's more, cross-breeding ideas across different categories or topics may give you insight into additional blog posts that make your readers say, "Wow, I wish I'd thought of that."

These techniques work well for me. When I actually use them. It does takes discipline to be consistent.

(c) Copyright 2005-present, Raj Kumar Dash, http://blogspinner.blogspot.com