Another Brick Wall In Your Mind?

    Photo Credit: Mark Khoo

Oh boy, it's getting tough to write a blog post these days!

I guess I've got to start somewhere if I'm going to create another post on this blog, especially when you have to use a keybaord - sorry, keyboard - that keeps playing tricks on the charactres...oops, characters.

This goddamn keyboard is sitting defiantly in front of me, probably laughing (if it can laugh) at my clumsy effort to type...without missing my p's and q's.

If I tried to type fast, a dinger - sorry again, finger - would miss the right key. If you look at the keyboard arrangement, R is next to T and D is next to F, and instead of hitting the A key I would hit an S! Talk about itchy fingers and potholes in the keyboard!

Well, I could become a one-finger typist plodding on at a safe snail pace. But that seems like a retarded idea fit only for turtles and snails.

Okay, enough of this tomfoolery on the keyboard. I can sense the mental brick wall is crumbling. I guess I have warmed up enough to write about...oh well, writer's block which do affect many bloggers.

See, I've gone past six silly little paragraphs to get to here. Now I'm untying the stifling knot in my head. Let me tell you that when you are having a cerebral blockage, don't drop dead, just write away on anything that comes to a clogged mind!

Remember, you're slowly loosening up, your mind's engine is stuttering but soon it'll be purring again like a well-oiled machine. Yes, you have overcome the hardest part of writing - that's getting started.

How to unlock that writer's block?

Writer's block is what many writers dread the most. Famous novelist and adventurer Ernest Hemingway was once asked about the most frightening thing he had ever encountered as a writer and he replied: "A blank sheet of paper." That unquestionably sums up that feeling of angst when it comes to 'putting ink on paper.'

Just imagine you want to write and you are facing a blank PC screen. Would that be as scary as facing a blank sheet of paper?

Today, it's so much easier to use a desktop computer or a laptop rather than an old beat-up typewriter to write.  If you type something you don't like you can always delete the sentence and rewrite it on your computer. You don't waste sheets of paper.

Across the blogging landscape, we have seen bloggers who used to post on a regular basis and then one day they started to slow down. And grinding to a halt. If you have been looking around and visiting some of your friendly neighbourhood blogs you'll notice that there's a long period of inactivity on these blogs.

And the first thing that comes to mind is...writer's block. It's the bane of folks who have overused their mental power and now are suffering from dysfunctional brain cells. Burnout.

For some bloggers (or every blogger and writer at one time or another), the 'brick wall syndrome' is just as much part and parcel of the malady all of us writers have to face sooner or later. Yes, you are encountering a writer's block when you have overstretched yourself and feeling lost for ideas.

How to get your creative juices flowing again? 

Perhaps, some good vintage wine will help you to clear the cobwebs inside there! Or it could be a spontaneous outburst of creativity after a cuppa  hot stimulating java. Maybe, you need to do a quick exercise (warm-ups) or freewrites (silly thing though) as I have done at the beginning of this article.

There's no one fix to get things going, it varies from one writer to another - different folks, different strokes.

Sometimes it's a good idea to take a break, pick up your acoustic guitar and work out a song (okay, not everyone is a guitar freak). But you still can listen to music, take a walk, work on your tai chi or perform some other activities that could get your mojo working.

Usually writers can't get started because they try to concentrate too much on the introduction and that bogs them down.

Don't worry too much - or just don't be too fussy at the beginning - start at any point. Just write away in the middle and by the time you come back to the front, you will have a clearer picture of how the introduction will run.

So there. Just don't feel anxious and frustrated. Throw out those negative feelings, be motivated and inspired by whatever that's cooking on your mind. And right away...write!

Another little trick to start is to work on the title or headline first. You can come up with several titles, decide which one can wow the reader and the rest of your writing will start to flow.  Usually, a good title will sum up the direction you're heading in your article. You can pick up some fine title ideas by studying those blurbs on magazine covers. So head over to your nearest magazine store and browse around for some inspiration.

Let's look at it from another writer's viewpoint about how to unlock that writer's block. Jeffrey Deaver, the bestselling author of thrillers and mysteries and creator of the Lincoln Rhyme series, has this advice: "I've often said that there's no such thing as writer's block; the problem is idea block."

Here's another quote from one of the best-known among the few African-American women science fiction writers, the late Octavia Estelle Butler: "You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence."

Ms Butler (June 22, 1947 - February 24, 2006) won both the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, she became the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant.

Finally, here's a little gem of a tip from the late American author James Thurber who was also noted as a cartoonist and celebrated wit: "Don't get it right, just get it written."

Well, folks, that's how you get around a sticky situation, do all the 'crappy' stuff first, then everything willl fall into place. There won't be another brick on the wall 'cos it's tumbling down and you'll be able to see the light on the other side. Write on! - Markk

Discover The Cure To Writer's Block

      

Why Bloggers Need To Understand Typography

Is it so hard to understand typography? To the uninitiated, it may appear to be something that's complex and hard to master.

Although typography is regarded as an art, its purpose is utilitarian. The correct usage of typography can be learned just like any other art or craft.

Understanding typography is not that difficult to do, because it only takes some common sense to grasp that understanding. It's all about good judgment and taste as well.

The effective use of typography is all about communication. That's right, effective visual communication.

Are you fully aware that typography if used correctly can enhance the appearance of your blog and increase readability?

Today, with millions of people writing on blogs or websites, there's more reasons to acquire some understanding of typography.

Applying typography correctly will help your site to be more readily accepted by readers. Make it easy on the reader's eye when he or she reads your article.

I've seen blogs that don't regard typography as an important visual element in their site makeup. This is probably due to a lack of understanding in the use of typography.

Typographic Literacy

A blogger is a publisher. And, as in the traditional world of publishing, bloggers need to acquire "typographic literacy." They have to be type savvy.

I've seen many blogs with good content. These blogs have well-written articles but they seldom break blocks of text into more palatable and readable paragraphs.

This hampers smooth reading. It creates a kind of visual 'torture' for the reader.

A huge chunk of paragraph is not easy on the eye and is more likely to discourage the reader. It's even worst when text are italicized. Ideally, each paragraph should comprise from one to three sentences only. Just imagine if you have been staring at the computer screen for a long while, would you find it easy to read that huge chunk of text? Italicized, like this paragraph you are reading?

Try putting this article together without any paragraphs or spacing and you'll see how difficult it is to read.

Take a look at most newspapers where readers today are not expected to linger over thick paragraphs. You can see editors break up sentences neatly into digestible portions, enabling the reader to read or scan through the text easily.

Today's newspaper readers are, by and large, 'scanners,' according to studies, and so are most blog readers.

Yes, legibility, compactness and comprehension are necessities of typography

It's all about good design and that calls for breaking long items into smaller, friendly, non-threatening, bite-size pieces of text.

Good typography usage involves knowing the different typographic styles like uppercase and lower case, roman and italic, regular and bold.

You must also be aware of indentation, margins, word division, paragraph spacing, line breaks, and font sizes.

Typefaces are classified into two types - serif and sans serif.

For example, the Georgia font is a serif typeface.

And the Verdana font is a sans serif typeface.

Knowing your type will help to set the tone of your publication and hold it together.

Another key ingredient in typography usage involves adding contrast between elements on a page. Changes in typography can be very effective in creating contrast.

In some cases, you can create a distinct identity when visuals are replaced by contrasting typefaces and type sizes to distinguish key phrases or words from less important elements.

Why? When every type on a page "shouts", it's hard to pay attention to what each one is trying to say. There'll be too much noise. It's typographic cacophony!

Contrast also comes from the skilful use of white space to highlight headings and visuals. When it's done in the right manner, contrast adds tension and interest to a page.

What do you think? Does it make sense to understand typography? - Markk

Image credit: sandbaum