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If you’re a writer or someone attempting to complete some writing, there’s likely been times when you’ve had a hard time putting pen to paper (or finger to key, to be more accurate). It could be a lack of inspiration, tiredness from having completed a chunk of writing already or my favorite – good old fashioned procrastination.
However, these content marketing pieces, blog posts and articles on your plate won’t write themselves. We’ve talked already about finding inspiration in pop culture to get you moving – but what if you already have some thoughts in mind and just need to get rolling?
Write or Die is here to kick you in the butt. The simple program from DrWicked.com puts the “prod in productivity.” You set the number of words you need to complete, a time in which you want to complete them (great for freelance writers who are trying to stick to a smart per hour rate), a “consequence mode” (more on that later) and a grace period (how long you can go without writing before the consequences begin).
Once set, you’re given a screen that you can write in. The word count lets you see as you go how you’re doing and there’s a countdown timer on the same screen. At anytime, you can select pause or hit done.
Depending on the grace period you selected, once you stop writing at anytime another invisible countdown clock begins. If you don’t start writing soon (in some cases, it’s 15 seconds, in others, it’s a mere 5 seconds), the consequences will kick in.
These writer’s block butt kickers range from:
- Gentle: The background goes from white to pink to red and a pop-up comes up to encourage you on.
- Normal: After the background goes to red, an annoying “Banana Phone” song comes up.
- Kamikaze Mode: Your words start to get eaten. This is obviously a consequence you want to avoid but may need to select if you really need to get pushed to keep going.
Write or Die will get you going if you’re facing a writer’s block or just a lack of motivation. The great thing about writing is that the process of doing it actually allows you to think through your thoughts more thoroughly and quickly. As you’re forced to write, the more a story or content marketing angle will grow out of your work. Before you know it, you’ll actually be done that assignment.
We recommend after using Write or Die that you copy and save your work into a word processing program, take a wee break (even just 20 minutes) and edit it with a fresh brain. Hurrying through content writing doesn’t always result in the best work, but it can get you on the right path.
If after using Write or Die you still find yourself staring at a blank screen, you may want to hire a freelance writer or a content marketing agency.
