Writing for Helium

Hi Mrtimharry, I started writing for Helium about 6 weeks ago, and submitted about 40 articles now. I use the following methods to overcome writer block: a. Rating. Sometimes come across a title that appeals to me. Sometimes the 2 articles under a certain title are so lousy that I simply feel the urge to write a better one. b. Keyword search. "Love" "Money" "rich" are very popular keywords that appear in a number of titles. I will read the top 3 articles in a title. Since no article is able to express everything under the topic. There is always an idea that is missed by the 3 writers. So I will write an article that do not share the same thoughts as the top 3. At times, I will read the last 2 articles. Sometimes get so agitated by the bad writings that I feel the urge to write.

I dont write for Helium but if you have writers block try taking a hot bath for about 30 minutes works great for me!

We all face this every now and then. My writing is down for this month, although I hope to improve my stats this week by writing more. One thing I do when I get blocked is to go to old stand-bys to get me out of the rut. I love to write about art history, which never makes me any money. Also you can do book and movie reviews, which are usually easier to write. Just think of movies you've seen recently or that are your favorites, and chances are, someone has written a review that you can improve on. Finally, if you get really desperate, you can always use the rating system to spur you on. Either write an article on a topic you are rating or if it gives you an idea, do a title search. For example, use the state you live in, places you've traveled, hobbies, or really something that you know a lot about that will get you back in the groove. Good luck with your writing on Helium.

It happens to everyone from time to time. I usually just take a break and get up and wander away from the computer for a bit.

Well, for a long time a serious writing career was one of those "Round Tuitt" jobs I never quite started. I've only recently started taking a real interest, but have yet to do my first article for Helium. Like you, I hit a mental wall sitting in front of the PC. The result is, I now have two notebooks full of undecipherable writing that, when I've decoded it, will form the basis of several short articles. In other words, the moment I took myself outside and indulged in some other activity, the ideas started flowing. I go to the gym a lot (I used to teach there) and realised that, for ages, I'd been doing self-styled exercises that would be perfect to strengthen horseriding muscles. I've now got an article out of my hobby. Another time, I went for a walk and uncovered an old moat - in the middle of a housing estate! Although this is more for the UK magazine market, I've got the beginnings of an interesting article on "hidden history on your doorstep". I'm one of those people who write paragraphs in their head and then forget them, so as well as my trusty notebooks I've invested in a digital voice recorder. Many mobile phones will do the same thing and I'd suggest you try this. Go out with some recording equipment and a pal if, like me, you find it difficult to talk 'blind' to a machine. Use your experience of life and just see what happens.

In the beginning I would sometimes have trouble but then I learned I needed to spend part of the time writing to competetive titles so I started looking around more and rating more and finding titles I could write to quite quickly without having to thing very much about them.