“Copywriting Notes” is going to be a new regular series of posts (every Friday is the plan) where I talk about some of the issues and challenges that copywriters face on a personal level. I promise this won’t be too self indulgent!
You know, being a freelance copywriter can be a bit of a lonely path to follow at times. And sometimes simply knowing that other people have similar problems to you, and seeing how they deal with them, can be helpful.
So I’ll be sharing some of my experiences and hope that you might find some benefit.
In today’s post, I want to talk about “Resistance”. What’s resistance? It’s when you end up doing pretty much anything apart from what you know you need to do – sit down and start writing!
You know, there are days when I don’t particularly feel like writing but I’ll sit down at my desk, get started and pretty soon I’m in the groove.
And then there are days when I’ll sit down…but then I’ll get up again. Strangely, there are all sorts of things that “must” be done (like tidying up the apartment, or filling up water bottles etc etc). Before I know it, the morning has gone and it’s time for lunch!
The afternoon is no better and before I know it, the day has gone with nothing achieved.
Author Steven Pressfield says…
“There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. What keeps us from sitting down is Resistance.”
That comment is from Steven’s book “The War Of Art” which is all about overcoming Resistance. I highly recommend the book.
So, how to overcome resistance? Well, we’re all different so you need to find what works for you. For me, 2 things in particular have been helpful…
1. Having a set time where I will be at my desk working REGARDLESS. This is what Steven Pressfield does. Every working day, by 10.30am he’s at his desk writing and he continues until he start making mistakes (usually about 4 hours, in his case). Then he stops.
2. Deadlines! Hey, it’s a natural thing for most people. We’re motivated by deadlines. Used wisely, they can be a big help.
That’s it for today. I’d be interested in your thoughts so please feel free to leave a comment about what you’ve found helpful in dealing with this demon!