MarketingInsideOut.com

It’s Monday Morning at the agency, you’re staring at your computer screen, but the words won’t come together.  Perhaps you’re self-conscious about not having done any research or “brainstorming” on your topic (Purdue University).  Or you feel pressure to be “perfect” for a new client, resulting in “fear of failure, self doubt, and depression” (Jean and Veryl Rosenbaum, The Writer’s Survival Guide). Maybe you’ve reached a “technical impasse…where you know something is wrong, but can’t identify it” (Michael Banks).  These are a few symptoms of writer’s block, a non-clinical condition sometimes faced by copywriters who toil in the vineyards of advertising and public relations.

Unlike the weekend hangover, which can be subdued with medication or a little “hair of the dog,” sufferers of Monday morning writer’s block who are desperate for a cure may look for ethereal remedies.  For example, one might evoke the patron saint of copywriters, Lucia of Syracuse, to provide inspiration.  You may recall Lucy as the saint whose memory was celebrated in the 1994 move, “The Ref,” by a dysfunctional family sitting around their Christmas dinner table with wreaths of lighted candles on their heads.

If wearing a headpiece of lighted candles doesn’t appeal to you, there’s always the patron saint of advertising and public relations – Bernadine of Siena (not Jerry Della Femina as many believe).  Bernadine was an Italian friar whose legendary powers of persuasion cast him forever in the role as protector and guardian of all those associated with advertising, public relations and uncontrolled gambling (http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/patron00.htm). 

Absent divine intervention, there’s this worthwhile advice from Michael Banks in his “Two Ways to Block Writer’s Block”:

• Start another writing project.  This foils frustration over not accomplishing anything and gives you the break you need.
• Write the parts you know how to write first…you’ll eventually gain a viewpoint or an insight that will help you work out the problem.  At the same time you’ll avoid compounding your problems and extending the “block” with frustration.

And when deadlines permit, it’s always a good idea to “sleep on it.”  This approach allows you to come back the next day with a fresh perspective and renewed enthusiasm for the project.  Plus, you don’t end up with melted candle wax in your hair.