10 ways to kick-start creativity

[The Writer’ s Life]( September 6, 2019 Hi {NAME}, Author William Faulkner once said, "I only write when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes at nine every morning." As freelance writers, we sometimes don't have the luxury of being "uninspired" … The client still expects us to deliver by the deadline. And while coming up with emotionally compelling ideas and persuasive words may normally come easily enough, sometimes you're facing a short deadline and your creativity can use a little jump-start. Today, Melissa Gouty, one of our Bootcamp Spec Challenge Winners, offers 10 ideas you can use to get your creativity revved up. You'll be back in the flow in no time. Now, before I turn it over to Melissa, I want to make sure you've heard our big news … We just opened the doors to our [Infinity Program](, our most popular "value deal" of the year. As an Infinity member, you get our complete library of home study programs and business-building resources free — for LIFE. That includes everything we've already published over the last 22+ years … AND everything we publish in the future! It's an unbelievable deal — and we've just made some big changes so it's BETTER than ever. [>> Check out all the details now.]( To your success, Rebecca Matter President, AWAI (Unprecedented!) A FULL CREDIT on Every AWAI Purchase … This is something we've NEVER done before: A FULL and UNCONDITIONAL credit of every last penny you've spent with AWAI over the past 12 months – money you can apply now to the best "value" deal we offer: Infinity. With Infinity, you're entitled to a lifetime of home study programs, course, guides, books, templates – every professional you need to learn, grow and succeed in your exciting new freelance writing business for pennies on the dollar. And through this unprecedented FULL CREDIT offer, your price will never be lower. [Go here now for all the details.]( 10 Ways to Kick-Start Creativity Under a Deadline By Melissa Gouty [Abstract creative polygonal colorful light bulb background. Innovation and creativity concept. 3D Rendering] Listen closely. Can you hear it? That's the sound of thousands of keyboards clicking as copywriters work to get out the billions of words needed every day. Direct-response sales letters. Web copy. Emails. Advertorials. White papers. Case studies. Product descriptions. Fundraising mailers. E-newsletters. That's what we do. We write compelling copy. We generate ideas with persuasive pizzazz. And we do it on a deadline. But sometimes, generating the thousands of words and dozens of ideas we need each week is not an easy task. Especially under pressure. Sometimes we stall, stuck … our creativity mired in cerebral concrete as the deadline bears down upon us. We've all been there. But don't despair. Here are 10 ways to kick-start your creativity when you're under a deadline. Read all the way to the end, and you will get an absolutely free, bonus tip #11! - Freewrite: You may be stalled because your inner critic is editing everything you think of before you can even get it out on paper. Shut him up by freewriting for 10 minutes on your topic. If you've never tried freewriting before, you will be amazed at the strange and wonderful connections that appear. Think about the topic or service you're writing about, and then pick up a pen or sit at your keyboard and write down every single thought that pops into your head. Don't edit. Don't worry. Don't evaluate. Just write. It doesn't matter what form the words take: phrases, sentences, single words. Even if it seems like gibberish, there may be some new idea in it that will help you move forward on your project. (Think of it like being stuck in a traffic jam. Doesn't any form of forward momentum make you feel better?) - Tweet Yourself: Lost in a jumble of thoughts? Try condensing your topic into a single tweet. With a limit of only 280 characters, you'll find yourself cutting to the core of your message and doing it in an insightful way. This may even produce the headline you've been looking for or compose a great line you can use. - Be Negative: Create a list of "What My Product is NOT." You've heard that two negatives make a positive? Brainstorm a list of all the things your product is NOT. Those ideas might combine into a compelling comparison. Or they might help you focus on the facets of your topic that WILL promote sales. - Create a Cartoon: If you're tired of thinking about words, think of pictures. What would your topic look like if it were a cartoon? How would the Big Idea look sketched out? What insight about your product could be imparted with a picture? (You don't have to be an artist to get the point across.) If you're inspired, create a whole comic strip. - Turn the Page with Age: Think of your product from the varying perspectives of age. What would a 6-year-old say? A 20-year-old say? A 50-year-old say? How about an 80-year-old? - Pry into Perceptions: This is a variation on the "Turn the Page with Age" exercise. Make a list of different groups of people: young mothers, grumpy businessmen, Bohemian artists, military families, fitness fanatics, elderly shut-ins, rock-stars, survivalists, college students, ER nurses, choir directors … (Whatever groups you want. You may even want to make a list of dozens of different "tribes," so you can repeat this exercise in the future.) Imagine the comments each group would make about your product. Or think about a conversation between two different groups. - Become a Mad Writer with a Mural: Using a whiteboard, a long piece of paper, or multiple pieces of paper stretched out horizontally, start your own kind of graffiti mural. Write down words, phrases, or numbers that relate to your product. Draw emojis and arrows to connect different ideas. Put in sketches or pictures of benefits or promises. Throw your thoughts into the mix with one-word expressions. Envision yourself as a mad artist in his studio throwing ideas at a blank canvas. When your canvas is filled, step back and look at the visual. Are there connections you didn't see before? Progressions? Ideas you haven't tapped? Pictures to explore? - Claim the World of Kid-Lit: Simplify your ideas enough that even a child could understand them. Take five sheets of paper, stack them horizontally, and fold them in half. Then write about your concept in storybook form as if you are reading the tale to children. (You'll be surprised how concepts become clearer when you try to explain them to a kid.) - Listen to Your Product: If your product could talk, what story would it tell? Put your product into a short, autobiographical story. Or write its bio for an introduction at a business conference. Listen to what it would say about its coming into the world, its popularity, its "feelings," its accomplishments. (Okay. Anthropomorphism — giving an inanimate object human abilities — is a controversial approach, but it can also be helpful in freeing up your mind!) - Sing the Alphabet Song: Starting with A and moving all the way to Z, list one word you associate with your product. You may find the perfect term for your product by moving through the alphabet and making new associations. (Give yourself a pass for the letter X, but yes, there are interesting words for even the most contrary consonants.) And here is your FREE bonus tip! - Explore the animal kingdom: Be a dog-talker. Conversations with my dog, Zoey, keep me sane. Maybe it's just talking out my concept and letting those random thoughts escape from my head that's helpful, or maybe my Zoey has really good ideas … But saying something out loud helps. Be a cat confidante, a cow conversationalist, or a horse-whisperer. Talk it out and get your creativity kick-started, revved up, and headed toward the finish line. Listen closely. Can you hear it? Your keyboard is calling you back, begging you to join the chorus of copywriters producing the words the world needs. Lucky for you, ideas now flow through your fingers like electricity through a cord. You've kick-started your creativity and defied deadline dread. Do you have any tactics that have helped you kick-start your creativity? [Share with us in the comments.]( Editorial Note: The doors are open to the biggest library of copywriting resources on this planet. For access to all of the resources you could ever need to succeed in your writing business, I highly recommend you check out our most popular "value deal" of the year: our Infinity Program … As an Infinity member, you get our complete library of home study programs free — for life. That includes everything we've already published over the last 22+ years … AND everything we publish in the future! It's an unbelievable deal — and it's bigger and better than ever. [But check it out soon](, because the doors may close at any time. The Most Recommended Path to the Writer's Life No matter what path you want to take to the writer's life, knowing how to write persuasively is at the heart of it all. AWAI's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting gives you what you need … from learning the skills to getting great clients … and everything in between. Join the thousands of writers who have already launched their careers with The Accelerated Program. [Special $200 savings here >>]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Trouble viewing this email? [View in your browser, here](. For questions or requests: [contact us online](. --------------------------------------------------------------- ©2019 American Writers & Artists Inc. Do you know of someone who would benefit from reading The Writer's Life? Simply direct them [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- American Writers & Artists Inc. 101 SE 6th Avenue, Suite A Delray Beach, FL 33483 (561) 278-5557 or (866) 879-2924 Ensure your subscription delivery. AWAI Whitelisting info available [here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- You are subscribed to this newsletter as {EMAIL}. To unsubscribe from any future issues of The Writer's Life, please click here: [Unsubscribe from The Writer's Life](. To unsubscribe from all AWAI broadcasts click here. [I want to permanently unsubscribe from all AWAI emails](.