I’m sure there are plenty of copywriters out there who talk about their work, but I don’t think too many will want to go on and on about how they actually do it. I suppose that preparing yourself for writing is a little bit like your routine for going to bed – today, I’m going to go over a few things that you could do to improve the quality and quantity of your daily writing by employing a few basic tools and rules. After all, a good blacksmith will never blame his hammer.
Before you sit down and start writing, you’ll want to remove any distractions that might break your creative ‘flow’. I personally close my office door, shut the window, turn off any air conditioning unit I have on (unless it’s essential) and put my phone on silent. You may want to turn on some light music although this is totally up to you – I personally like listening to ambient/minimal tracks with little to no vocal output. Others may find heavy metal their cup of tea and for some, nothing helps the writer’s mind more than white, pink and brown noise. At the end of the day, it’s all down to what you think works best – silence, in a large number of cases, may very well be the ticket to success.
I can’t say that I’ve used too many word processors, but Microsoft 2003 and 2007 are solid tools of the trade. I don’t actually think that the latter is better than the former, although after a few weeks, you do adjust yourself to the modern layout of 2007. I know of at least one other writer that uses something outside of the Microsoft series, but I’ve yet to see a good, detailed review of rival products that actually provides good reasons to switch. Above all, I think MS is the way to go because it’s 99% compatible with 99% of PCs.
While you’re actually writing, it’s a good idea to break your load down into smaller pieces. Going at it for five hours is pretty harsh, although a ten minute break every hour can really break a day up so you don’t feel too drained at the end of your wordsmithing session. I usually split a hefty day’s work into three equal segments with large breaks in between – others swear by doing it all at once as soon as the day starts so they can enjoy the rest of their day without a worry.
If you can optimize how you work, there’s a good chance you’ll feel a lot better before, during and after your load is complete. Writers are susceptible to block and it’s the worst feeling in the world – you want to avoid overloading yourself with too much stress, especially in a job that requires the utmost concentration and creativity.
