Hate Writing? Try these tips...

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When I was a little girl, I disliked writing.  In this blog alone, I have mentioned that I was the worst writer in the world throughout my childhood.  I would get tons and tons of red marks, and I would often question the teacher, who made the mark, what did I do wrong.   I would listen, but it would go in one ear and out the other.  Spelling was not my friend, "I" before "e" except after "c" sent a hit man on my future writing career, and I would cry every time the teacher said the phrase, "write an essay about_______."  It is amazing  that I ended up writing not one, but 4 blogs on a variety of subjects.   Do I still have problems?  Oh yes I do.  I have to constantly proofread my work, but I have come to find that writing over the years relaxes me.   I am no longer plagued by deadlines (except my own or if I am freelancing for someone).  If I do have a deadline, I plan ahead.   I love writing.
Today, I received an email from one of newsletters I get on a daily basis.  It is called Copyblogger, and they give you tips on how to become a better blogger.  I came across today's main article titled,  9 Tips on Becoming a More Creative and Productive Writer.   You can read the rest of the article, but I am only going to highlight a couple of tips in the article.   In this article, I came across # 1 which is to take notes. We as writers should know this, but so many of us forget this important step.  At least I do.  This is extremely important if you are doing research.   Taking notes helps formulate your thoughts, give order and clarity to what you want to talk about.   In addition to the first tip, Richard M. Martin, who is the author of this article, gives these other tips:
#2 -Try freewriting.   Freewritng is a style where you just randomly write something.  Mr. Martin says that the writing itself often does not make sense, but you will have something on paper.  For example, if you do not have a subject, you can start by writing, " Today is a sunny day."   Its random, and fortunately, it is the first thing that popped into my head, because where I live is sunny and warm.   "I am bored", is the next thing that popped into my head.  It makes no sense to what I want to write about, nor does it flow from the "Today is a sunny day" sentence but I have on paper (well, the computer screen).  Try this style to see with you can come up with.   You may end up with a well-written article, and drive in traffic.
#4 -  Play with your dog.   You are stressed when you cannot think of a thing to write, and after several hours, it can be frustrating.   Just take a break is what Mr. Martin is trying to say.   If you do not have pets, clean your house, play with your children, or read a book.  Do anything that gets you mind off of the daunting task of deadlines, and endless hours of useless thought patterns.  When you are ready to continue, you will know.  The random thought will come.
#5-Give Thanks.   Thank God that you have a job that gives you the joy and the passion of writing.  Who knows, you may end up writing a gratitude piece that can wow your audience, and may even amaze yourself that you still got it.  Gratitude is the best way to get out your thoughts, like "I am thankful for today", and then explain why you are thankful.   It may also make you more appreciative of the things you have, and not worry about the things you do not have.  
#9- Take a risk.   If you do not take risks, according to Mr. Martin, "you do have a chance to fail."  another quote from the article is "to succeed, people must have the freedom to fail.   Failing is not the only thing of to taking risks, in my opinion.  You may try something new, and not only you love it, but your target audience may like it as well.  You may get a few, "don't likes" in you comments section, but that's Ok, because there is another quote, "Nothing beats a failure but a try."   If you are really not sure of it, try the that piece on a test audience.   If they love it, than the rest will.  You cannot please everyone, only yourself. (And God).
I hope these tips help you and encourage you when you are stuck.  Read the article for more of Mr. Martin's tips on the subject, and I wish you luck in getting out of your "brain fog".    Be blessed.