Let’s get something out in the open right now. Professional writers, just like all other business people, have bad days.  Most of the time, it involves tapping mindlessly on keys and daydreaming about the day that we make it big as famous authors or work for a big company as a business writer.  Did you ever stop to think about what it is that is causing the bad day?  That maybe you might be blocked?  Or, perhaps you’re just being lazy?  Writer problems are a thing, after all.  Here’s what you should know.

What is keeping the words from flowing?

The key to figuring out if you’re dealing with a block or a wave of laziness is to step back and take an objective look at what is actually stopping you from writing.

Blocked: You’re struggling with the phrasing.  If you are finding that you’re just sitting there beating your head against the desk because everything you’re writing sounds like garbage, it’s a sure sign that you are dealing with a case of writer’s block.

Lazy: You’re daydreaming and otherwise distracted.  If you’re suddenly fascinated with dust motes, or you have the sudden inclination to go wash all of your curtains or do some ironing, you can safely bet that you’re just being lazy about the work on your desk.

Blocked: You’re being repetitive in your text.  When you find yourself feeling as though you are saying the same thing over and over again, you might be struggling with the central point of your writing assignment.  Do you know what you want to say?  Do you have the information that you need to write what you’re supposed to be writing?  Do you understand what you’re trying to say?  This could account for your groundhog-day-like wording.

Lazy: You’re finding more and more typos and grammatical errors.  If you’re typing is ridiculously bad and you’re wasting time reformatting and spell checking, perhaps you might just be lazy.  That laziness just adds to extra time, so grab some motivation in the form of caffeine and start being more careful where you fingers land!

The verdict

The hardest part is fessing up when you are, in fact, being lazy.  Personally, this was especially so when I was just started as a full-time business content writer.  I wasn’t used to the long hours and the fact that all of my writing had to be as sophisticated as possible.  Sometimes it was due to a serious block, but other times I was just trying to weasel myself out of doing the task waiting for me.

In all honesty, guys, this the fourth time I’ve tried to write this blog post.  The words wouldn’t flow no matter what I tried.  I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t phrase it in a way that made sense.  I finally had to step away for a while (yes, I did wash my curtains…) and come at it again when I felt a little clearer on what I needed to say.  So, what do you think?  Was I blocked or just being lazy?

What are some of the best ways that you’ve used to decide whether you’re blocked or lazy?  Did you step away from the keyboard like I did, or force yourself to struggle through?  Feel free to share them below! 

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