{"id":437,"date":"2009-06-18T00:13:00","date_gmt":"2009-06-18T07:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blogWORDPRESS\/2009\/06\/18\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/"},"modified":"2009-06-18T00:13:00","modified_gmt":"2009-06-18T07:13:00","slug":"copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/","title":{"rendered":"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER’S BLOCK"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Usually when we talk about writer’s block, we’re referring to the writer who just can’t get words onto a page. That would be someone working on a novel or a play or an extended essay for publication; they just can’t seem to get started or, more often, they’ve started but now they’re stuck.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

That kind of writer’s block invariably is caused by one of two things: Lack of information…or Fear. <\/p>\n

When I say “lack of information,” I mean the writer hasn’t worked out the story sufficiently or doesn’t really know the characters; the way you solve that problem is to stop trying to write and instead work on understanding the story or the characters better.<\/p>\n

But most writer’s block \u2014 as the term usually is used by copywriters \u2014 is caused by fear. There is nothing more intimidating than a blank page. <\/p>\n

So…Put something on it. <\/p>\n

Here’s a trick I learned a long time ago, and it works whether I’m writing a commercial or a newsletter or a book: Don’t end your workday or your work session when you’ve finished an entire section. Start writing the next part, even if it’s just a couple of sentences.<\/p>\n

So if you’re writing a book, don’t stop when you’ve finished a chapter. Begin the next<\/span> chapter, and tomorrow when you sit down to write you won’t have to ask “What do I do now?” because you’ll be joining a work in progress.<\/p>\n

You see, for most writers the hardest part isn’t writing; it’s starting<\/span>. And when you sit down at the keyboard to find that someone already has started writing the commercial for you, it’s like you’ve given yourself a gift.<\/p>\n

But for people who work for a radio station and write lots of commercials, often it’s not really “writer’s block;” it’s lack of time. It’s “Here’s the copy order, goes on the air tomorrow, and our production guy is leaving early today for a doctor’s appointment.”<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re writing commercial copy and you feel stuck and you’ve got at least a few extra minutes, here’s an easy technique that will help you get started.<\/p>\n

Call the client and ask, “How did you get started in this business?”<\/span> \u2014 and then let him talk. Most business owners have a story; let your clients tell theirs.<\/p>\n

Here are two more questions you can add. Let’s say he owns a bookstore. Ask him:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

“What’s the one thing you love most about running a bookstore?”<\/p>\n

“What’s the biggest misconception people have about bookstores?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Nine times out of ten, if you listen, the client will GIVE you a great story to use in your commercial. I don’t mean putting that story directly into the copy; it might just be the feeling the story expresses. <\/p>\n

A while ago I wrote commercial copy for a number of different restaurants, and again & again the restaurateurs would tell me the most satisfying aspect of owning a restaurant is seeing how happy their guests are while at their restaurant. I never would have guessed that; I probably would have guessed “being my own boss” or “hearing people rave about our food.” <\/p>\n

I also learned that is how they refer to their patrons: “Guests.” Not customers. Not diners. “Guests.”<\/p>\n

And all of that helped me understand the experience I was going to try to convey in 30 or 60 seconds.<\/p>\n

More techniques for overcoming writer’s block in future blog posts.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Usually when we talk about writer’s block, we’re referring to the writer who just can’t get words onto a page. That would be someone working on a novel or a play or an extended essay for publication; they just can’t seem to get started or, more often, they’ve started but now they’re stuck. That kind […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,168],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-437","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-radio-commercial-copywriting","7":"category-writers-block"},"yoast_head":"\nCOPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Usually when we talk about writer’s block, we’re referring to the writer who just can’t get words onto a page. That would be someone working on a novel or a play or an extended essay for publication; they just can’t seem to get started or, more often, they’ve started but now they’re stuck. That kind […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DanODayRadio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-06-18T07:13:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_JygV9WxRKKc\/SjnkszpShhI\/AAAAAAAAAto\/kI_PS-sUEGs\/s400\/WritersBlock.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan O'Day\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Dan_ODay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Dan_ODay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan O'Day\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Dan O'Day\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c\"},\"headline\":\"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER’S BLOCK\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-18T07:13:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":571,\"commentCount\":11,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/1.bp.blogspot.com\\\/_JygV9WxRKKc\\\/SjnkszpShhI\\\/AAAAAAAAAto\\\/kI_PS-sUEGs\\\/s400\\\/WritersBlock.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"radio commercial copywriting\",\"writer's block\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/\",\"name\":\"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/1.bp.blogspot.com\\\/_JygV9WxRKKc\\\/SjnkszpShhI\\\/AAAAAAAAAto\\\/kI_PS-sUEGs\\\/s400\\\/WritersBlock.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-06-18T07:13:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/1.bp.blogspot.com\\\/_JygV9WxRKKc\\\/SjnkszpShhI\\\/AAAAAAAAAto\\\/kI_PS-sUEGs\\\/s400\\\/WritersBlock.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/1.bp.blogspot.com\\\/_JygV9WxRKKc\\\/SjnkszpShhI\\\/AAAAAAAAAto\\\/kI_PS-sUEGs\\\/s400\\\/WritersBlock.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/06\\\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER’S BLOCK\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\",\"description\":\"Straight talk about radio programming, radio advertising, radio production...Well, you get the idea.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c\",\"name\":\"Dan O'Day\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/danoday.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/assistant\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","og_description":"Usually when we talk about writer’s block, we’re referring to the writer who just can’t get words onto a page. That would be someone working on a novel or a play or an extended essay for publication; they just can’t seem to get started or, more often, they’ve started but now they’re stuck. That kind […]","og_url":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/","og_site_name":"DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DanODayRadio","article_published_time":"2009-06-18T07:13:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_JygV9WxRKKc\/SjnkszpShhI\/AAAAAAAAAto\/kI_PS-sUEGs\/s400\/WritersBlock.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Dan O'Day","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Dan_ODay","twitter_site":"@Dan_ODay","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan O'Day","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/"},"author":{"name":"Dan O'Day","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c"},"headline":"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER’S BLOCK","datePublished":"2009-06-18T07:13:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/"},"wordCount":571,"commentCount":11,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_JygV9WxRKKc\/SjnkszpShhI\/AAAAAAAAAto\/kI_PS-sUEGs\/s400\/WritersBlock.jpg","articleSection":["radio commercial copywriting","writer's block"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/","url":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/","name":"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER'S BLOCK - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_JygV9WxRKKc\/SjnkszpShhI\/AAAAAAAAAto\/kI_PS-sUEGs\/s400\/WritersBlock.jpg","datePublished":"2009-06-18T07:13:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_JygV9WxRKKc\/SjnkszpShhI\/AAAAAAAAAto\/kI_PS-sUEGs\/s400\/WritersBlock.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_JygV9WxRKKc\/SjnkszpShhI\/AAAAAAAAAto\/kI_PS-sUEGs\/s400\/WritersBlock.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2009\/06\/copywriters-how-to-overcome-writers-block\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"COPYWRITERS: HOW TO OVERCOME WRITER’S BLOCK"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/","name":"DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO","description":"Straight talk about radio programming, radio advertising, radio production...Well, you get the idea.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/afe504342187ed9676675802d9c9b19c","name":"Dan O'Day","url":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/author\/assistant\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=437"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}