Staring at a blank white screen can make a writer, or any person for that matter, go entirely mad. The pressure to fill the empty document with letters and characters that combine to form insightful words and witty dialogue, makes me stray from my writing, pushing it to the side as I waste time on Tumblr, Facebook or other semi-mindless social networks.

I’ve recently come across a way to calm the nerves that come with an empty document —pictures.

Everyone knows the saying that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but have you ever tried to write those thousand words? Pictures can be a great jumping off point for a story or a novel.

In fact, the highly acclaimed author, Junot Diaz, uses lots of photos as inspiration. In a New York Times article, he shared that he found inspiration for his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, “The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao,” in a picture of his father dressed in a fascists uniform.

How The Picture to Inspiration Process Works

So here is what I do when I’m devoid of writing inspiration and motivation, in three simple steps:

1. Find Some Photos to Look At 

I start by searching through my friend’s photos on Facebook.

Remember though, you don’t have to start on Facebook, because there are plenty of great sites to search for photos, like:

•  Pinterest—Aside from craft ideas, ways to paint your fingernails and recipes, you can find some interesting visuals, from fashion magazine spreads to vibrant graphics, and pictures of amazing buildings with unusual shaped rooms.
•  Flickr—You probably know this site as a place to upload your photos online, but it also serves as a gallery of all flickr users photos. All you have to do is click “Explore” and you can browse a never-ending gallery of beautiful and diverse images.
•  Life Magazine—If you are looking to write about history or a different time, Life Magazine has a plethora of their photo archives online. Here you can find amazing black and white images of things ranging from the first Super Bowl to photographs of fish skeletons. It’s an amazing resource.

2. Transfer the Photo(s) to Your Document

Once you’ve gone through and found a picture that really captures your imagination, you can choose to save the image privately in a document. Just right click on the image, and copy it onto the top of your document. This way it’s always on your document, and it takes your attention away from that blank page anxiety.

If you do decide to copy the photo onto your document, be sure to link the image to the URL where it came from (or keep track of the URL somehow), that way you can give proper credit to the person who owns it.

Alternatively, you could also create a bookmark folder on your browser for “Inspiring Images.”

3. Start Writing

Now you write.

I can’t help you develop a story—that’s on you—but sometimes it’s nice to just try stream of consciousness and write whatever pops into your head when staring at the picture. It also works if you take one specific element from a picture and use it to inspire you.

For instance, I recently found one of my friend’s pictures from her cruise to Barbados.  I imagined the sunset as a scene in a fantasy story, where the sun never completely sets and there is always an intense orange glow in the sky.

If you are already working hard on a piece, a photo can work just as well to rev your writing engine. You can find inspiration in pictures for a plot twist, or a new character development, or perhaps an ominous dream.

Have you used photos as inspiration? Do you have any tips?

About the Author: Karolina Shenton is a cruise consultant at The Cruise Web. The Cruise Web is a travel agency that specializes in cruising. The expert cruise consultants focus on providing travelers with the best value for their time and money in finding and booking a cruise vacation! Check out our site for the best deals for cruises to the Caribbean, cruises to Alaska and much more. 

Image courtesy of The Cruise Web.

How do you add a third dimension to a story so it appears ‘real’?

One way is to set it in a real location and drop in a wealth of authentic minutia. That location is real so the story must be too!

A more subtle technique is to suggest that our characters exist in another world, independently of the story. In the tales of Sherlock Holmes we continually bump against allusions to Holmes’s previous exploits. Watson, the narrator, pretends that they’re a matter of public record. They actually happened, in the real world. Or so we’re given to believe.

Result: many readers feel that Holmes and Watson are still ‘alive’ today. And women still do apply to 221B Baker Street for employment as their housekeeper.

Both techniques create the illusion of a ‘story behind the story’. The events have depth and dimension, just like those in real life.

A device even more subtle is to weave in a ‘shadow story.’

This is a tale that exists beneath the surface, like the hidden thread in a tapestry. It may have nothing to do with the main story, directly. Its purpose is to give it a tantalizing illusion of depth.

Peter Ackroyd made good use of this ‘shadow’ technique in The House of Dr Dee. It’s two stories in one and, at first, neither seems related to the other.

In one chapter, we’re following the 16^th century exploits of Dr Dee, Queen Elizabeth’s favorite astrologer. In the next, a 20^th century narrator is gloomily inspecting Dr Dee’s ancient London house, which he has just inherited. The story flits disconcertingly between the two characters and timelines.

What was Ackroyd’s purpose? He wanted to endow the mundane story of his modern narrator with an eerie timeless dimension.

At the end, the two stories come together and the one deepens the other. We discover that the narrator is Dr Dee, a magician who lives outside of time and reincarnates himself in every generation.

Creepy!

But we don’t need to be writing an historical mystery or sci-fantasy to use that device. Here’s how we can create an effect of timeless depth in any genre of story:

How To Write A ‘Shadow Story’ Step-by-Step

First, devise two plots with different settings and characters. They might be located in separate places or even time periods. But endow each one with a comparable theme.

Play those stories against each other so that each acts as an ironic counterpoint to the other. Here’s an instance:

Main narrative: A modern teenager is digging her garden and finds a ring set with curious jewels. Is it valuable? She needs money to buy a dress for her prom yet can’t bring herself to pawn the ring.

Flashback to the 17th century: A countess is getting married. On her finger is a magnificent ring, the gift of her lordly husband, a man with dark eyebrows and a hooked nose. On their honeymoon they romp together in the garden. At the climax of their passion, she loses the ring. He curses her negligence — it’s a family heirloom! — and abandons her. She dies childless and embittered.

Return to modern times: The girl wears the ring to her prom ball. She meets a lad with dark eyebrows and a hooked nose. He expresses a strange interest in her ring…

Well, you can guess the rest. Do they marry? Does she give him the ring as a wedding gift? And he loses it? Perhaps she forgives him and they found a dynasty together. The ring is passed on from daughter to daughter across a dozen generations.

Or maybe she curses his negligence and stalks out of their marriage…

Either way, that ‘shadow’ plot has endowed the tale with an eerie, timeless resonance.

Both those stories are self-contained. Both work independently of the other. Yet both are linked by a common theme.

It’s not essential that the main and sub-plot come together at the close. Provided their theme is similar the reader will create that sense of unity in their own mind. They won’t be able to explain why, but our story will seem uncannily — perhaps even creepily — ‘real’.

 What shadow themes have you noticed in both movies and novels? 

About the Author: Dr John Yeoman, PhD Creative Writing, judges the Writers’ Village story competition and is a tutor in creative writing at a UK university. He has been a successful commercial author for 42 years. A wealth of further ideas for writing fiction that sells can be found in his free 14-part story course.

Writing an eBook is one of those amazing ways us writers can use our writing talents and the knowledge in our noggins for the greater good of the world. We can gift the world with our words.

Unlike novels, which are works of fiction, eBooks are typically non-fiction books that focus on a specific topic. For example, I’ve written two eBooks: one is a guide for writers who struggle to get started, the other is a guide for finding your perfect pen name.

You may be thinking that you can’t write an eBook because there are just too many out there already and what would you have to say that other people haven’t said a million times before? Or maybe you have an idea, but just aren’t sure what the process of writing an eBook is.

I found a lot of my readers were curious about writing an eBook, so I put together a series on my other blog, InkyBites, to help you know exactly what to do, from start to finish:

How To Write An eBook: From Idea to Launch (a 9-part series)

Part One: 8 Steps From Idea to Launch

Part Two: Finding the Perfect Topic

Part Three: Brainstorming the Details

Part Four: Create An Outline

Part Five: The Scariest Part of All

Part Six: Getting Your Draft Into Final Form

Part Seven: Pulling Your Team Together

Part Eight: Putting Together A Launch Plan

Part Nine: Launch Day!

Now you know exactly what to do, so no more excuses. Get that eBook written!

What? Still Not Convinced You Should Write One?

I bet you have an eBook deep inside you that’s just waiting to come out! So what’s stopping you?

Lack of motivation? Lack of organization? Fear?

My guess is it’s one or a combo of these three things:

1. You’re not sure how to start—guidance through the eBook creation process is what you need
2. You don’t have anyone to support you—support is crucial when you’re a writer. You need someone in your corner to pick you back up when you want to quit.
3. You don’t know if you can be accountable to yourself—you’ve tried in the past, but it hasn’t worked all that well.

I already gave you the process above, which solves problem #1.

But what about problems #2 and #3?

I have a solution for those too.

From Concept to Completion: A 90-Day eBook Journey

I’m gearing up to write my new eBook and I’m looking for a small group of dedicated, passionate writers who want to join me on the journey.

You’ll be creating, planning and writing your eBook alongside me as I write mine. We’ll have weekly group calls to discuss the overall process and share feedback.

It’s gonna be an awesome journey.

Now this journey isn’t for every writer. It’s not for the cowardly or the faint of heart. It’s not for writers who make excuses or writers who let fear hold them back.

No, it’s for the writers who are committed to themselves, to their dreams and to finally writing the eBooks that are buried deep inside them.

Are you one of these writers?

If you are, I’d love for you to join me.

Image courtesy of spykster

Setting your own rates as a freelancer can be both empowering and worrisome: How much should I charge? At what point does the level of my experience warrant an increase in what I charge?

Will my clients be unhappy if I increase my rates? What do I do if I increase my rates and some clients are unwilling to pay?

These are just some of the many questions that you will inevitably ask yourself when considering your freelance rates.

Start With Timing

The first thing to think about is timing. You don’t want to increase your rates before your experience and product warrants it. A good indication of the level of your work is the satisfaction of your existing clients.

So get feedback from your clients. If they are happy with the standard of your work then you can think about increasing your rates.

Take this into account, as well as the extent of your experience. If you have been a freelancer for more than 6 months without an increase in rates, then maybe raising your rates is seriously something to consider.

The thing to remember is that you are offering a service. Your client is paying both for your time and for your experience, and they would not be doing so if they didn’t think you were worth it.

Clearly when you first start out as a freelancer, you will not be charging large sums of money. It takes time to build up a portfolio and a client base, but once you have a satisfied client base and a portfolio that you are proud of, it’s time to raise your rates.

In some cases a good indication of when to increase your rates is when clients suggest an increase in what they are happy to pay. But of course this is not always going to happen and most clients will be more than happy to continue paying a lower rate for your work.

If this is the case then you need to be confident enough in your own skills and the quality of your work to suggest an increase.

Gain More Confidence In Yourself

Many freelancers are anxious about raising their rates. An easy way to go about doing it is to build your rate increases in increments.

Start by giving five clients a particular rate, and then give new clients a rate that you have slightly increased. Once you have a base of clients at the new rate, you can assess the willingness of your current clients paying the lower rate to now pay a slightly elevated rate.

The anxiety of raising your rates often comes from a fear of losing clients and negatively impacting your business. You may feel fearful of asking your current clients to pay a higher rate going forward, because you don’t want to lose them.

So what happens if some clients are unwilling to pay the increased rate?

On the one hand you can accept this, but ask them to commit to an increase in rates in two or three months; on the other hand you can stick to your guns. Only you will know which approach is right for which client.

On the whole though, the people and companies that you work for are businesses themselves and so will have an appreciation for the difficulty of running a business and will in most cases think it is standard to raise rates at some point.

Realistically the moment you begin to think about raising your rates, is about the time you should do it. No one is more critical of your work than you are.

Have you ever raised your freelance rates? How did you navigate that tricky landscape?

About the Author: Richard McMunn established How2become in 2005, when he was working as a Fire Officer for Kent Fire & Rescue Service at the time. Since writing his first book, how to become a firefighter, Richard has gone on to author various titles spanning across multiple careers . The company has grown and developed into the UK’s leading careers information and development website. Connect with How2become on Facebook.

Image courtesy of Dustin Moore

Every writer—no matter how big or small, experienced or inexperienced, prolific or scarce—has those moments when they struggle to see beyond the empty page in front of them, and when just about anything in the world seems a more attractive alternative to sitting down to write.

To borrow from a famous quote, the case could be made that the art of writing revolves around roughly 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration, and preparing yourself for the challenge awaiting you can sometimes appear too daunting to handle.

There are, however, a number of motivational tactics to help see you past the finish line without resorting to hitting the booze cupboard and slowly losing your mind with stress.

So if you’re struggling to get started or losing the requisite willpower to continue with your project, then the following methods might provide some much-needed assistance:

1. Have Faith In Your Vision

It’s often said that we are our own worst enemies when it comes to judging our work. Using your imagination and plying your craft often carries with it much emotional baggage.

After many hours of writing, one lousy-looking sentence can lead you to believe that none of it is any good. In this state, it can become very difficult to analyze your writing in an objective manner.

The chances are your writing isn’t worthless.

The chances are that if one lousy-looking sentence gets you down, you have very high standards. Your writing is probably very good.

Having faith in your vision can be a struggle at the best of times, and the most important thing you can do is to remember that every writer experiences this.

You have to smash through the barrier. 

2. Discuss Your Writing Regularly With Friends and Fellow Colleagues

There is only so much that you can do on your own. Discussing your work regularly with friends and colleagues is a great motivational tool if you find yourself struggling to make it work.

If you talk about your work with others and bounce ideas off one another, chances are you’ll walk away with a renewed excitement to get back at your desk to write.

There is nothing wrong with seeking some approval for what you’re doing. And there is nothing better than seeing someone else’s enthusiasm for your creative ideas.

Seeing their excitement is a huge confidence booster when it comes to writing. Sometimes all you need is a little kick in the right direction, and it’s our friends and colleagues that can do it for us.

3. Break Down the Writing Into Manageable Sections

Long journeys across deserts are split by the stars of the night. And every great mountain climb has been tackled in slow stages.

Nothing great can ever be achieved all at once. Writing is no different.

From the shortest essay to the longest novel, breaking your work into manageable sections is the sure way to success for any burgeoning writer.

Splitting one project into ten makes even the hardest writing task doable. The more you break it down, the more manageable it becomes.

It is easy to feel daunted by the empty page, but diligent planning in this way is one of the most powerful tools to envision and motivate yourself for the road ahead.

4. Find Something You’re Passionate About Within the Work and Let It Flow

If you’re completely stuck for ideas, don’t worry. It’s not unusual.

A good habit to get into as a writer is to keep journals. Your writing journal is the only place with no rules, no hesitation and no analyzing.

Make sure you treasure this. Good writers can just sit and write.

So can you.

Without thinking, write the first thing that comes into your head, let the nib of the pen glide you across the page and keep writing for at least twenty minutes.

Afterwards, glance over your work and you will be amazed at the things you come up with.

This simple motivational tool can work wonders in opening your mind to new ideas and possibilities. By letting your pen and emotion carry you forth, you’ll find something you’re passionate about and be able to let it flow.

Hopefully at least one of these tips will have struck a chord in you somewhere and you’re now ready to write.

How do you motivate yourself to put words on the page?

About the Author: This article is by Laurent Kelly on behalf of  UKEssays.com. Founded in 2003, it has helped students around the world with their dissertation writing.

Image courtesy of Julie Jordan Scott

You can read this post tomorrow. Then tomorrow you will think that you might as well read it the next day, and so on.

You’re a procrastinator. You procrastinate with almost everything in your life. You wait ’til the last minute for everything.

And you can only change that, if you change yourself and your way of doing things.

Here are 11 tips to help you waste time less and accomplish more with your writing:

1. Know When Your Performance Is At Its Peak

Biorhythms, or biological peak performance schedules, are something you should investigate. Every person has their own time of the day when they are just more productive.

For instance, night owls work better during nights and evenings, and early birds are better performers in the first part of the day.

2. Stay Singularly Focused

Mono-tasking is always more productive than multi-tasking. Humanity had always mono-tasked until recently, when the computer age came. Years of advancement and evolution have not erased our predisposition to mono-tasking as the most effective way of doing the job.

3. Think of the Reward

Think positively by focusing on what your reward will be for finishing your writing tasks. And if the reward is not good enough to motivate you, instead think of it as a challenge and complete the task just to see if you can!

4. Start With the Hardest (Or Easiest) Task

People tend to postpone the most difficult assignments, though this is a mistake. It’s better to just do them and get them over with.

Of course sometimes it’s easier to start if you start with the easiest writing task you have and work your way up to the bigger tasks.

Whatever helps you get started writing.

5. Make A Plan

Start planning your day and see how effective planning can be in your war against procrastination. Break your bigger writing tasks down into smaller ones, to make them easier to digest and work on.

Smart planning can turn even the hardest tasks into easy walk-throughs.

Also, be sure to keep a journal and a long-term “to-do” list.

It’s amazing how much stuff you can forget if you don’t have it written down. You may come up with ideas for things you want to do eventually, but not right now. Write it down so you don’t forget!

You can also build it into the bigger vision for your writing life.

6. Define the Consequences

Sometimes we need to remember the consequences of our procrastinating actions in order to motivate ourselves to do something.

Define the most unpleasant consequences of not doing your tasks. For example, if you are in college, think how bad it would feel coming back to your parents’ home with a guilty look after having failed school because you procrastinated on all of your projects/assignments.

Sure, it’s a bit harsh, but it could just be the kick you need to get moving.

7. Prioritize Your Task List

You can use different colors to highlight the most important and the least important things you need to do. That way at the bare minimum you always get your most important tasks completed.

If you can define and then execute on 1-3 of the most important things you need to do toward your goal every single day, you’d be light-years away from where you are today.

8. Ask Someone to Motivate You

Ideally find a person who is already doing what you want to be doing, and ask them to mentor and motivate you. You could hire a coach or find an accountability buddy on Twitter.

Find a way to make—and keep—yourself accountable.

9. Set Deadlines for Every Task

Urgency to act is what you want to create. If things on your to-write list seem urgent, now’s the time to take care of them.

Ask your new accountability buddy to help keep on you task, or set some of your own deadlines if you can keep yourself accountable.

10. Identify the Root Cause of Your Procrastination and Eliminate It 

You can’t truly solve a problem until you can get to the root cause of it. So dig down deep into the root cause of your procrastination, and you’ll come out with solutions for how to overcome it.

11. Change Your Environment

There can be something in your environment that distracts you from your work. Find a place where you can write in peace and quiet.

Using these tips, you can easily get moving on your writing project. Just imagine how great you’ll feel once it’s all finished!

How do you ensure you always get your writing projects done on time? 

About the Author: This article is provided by one of the freelance writers of EvolutionWriters.com service. This company has been operating and helping students around the world for a long time and offers a wide range of professional writing services. 

[Note: Procrastinating Writers is not affiliated with EvolutionWriters.com, and the use of this guest post is not a recommendation of their services by us.]

Image courtesy of wrestlingentropy

Writers are finicky, troublesome creatures.  If it isn’t one issue hindering our writing, it’s another.

Since there are numerous problems that plague us, this post must obviously address more than one tribulation.

So here it is.  Let’s get you to actually accomplish something, make your writing totally epic, and tie the whole thing up with a nice, neat bow.

First, we need to get your ass off the sofa.

Stop Procrastinating

Check out what Piers Steel, a business professor at the University of Calgary, revealed:

In the 1970s, only about 5% of Americans admitted to procrastinating on a regular basis.  By 2002, the popularity of procrastination had rocketed up to 26%. 

What do you supposed the percentage would be today?!

Procrastination can be traced back to a variety of sources—laziness, lack of motivation, stress overload, and much more.  If you believe Denis Waitley, an American motivational speaker:

“Procrastination is the fear of success…because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday, I’ll…’ philosophy”  

But let’s not waste any more time on trying to determine why you aren’t writing.  That is just delaying your results even longer.  Shame on us!

1.  Perfection is overrated.

Anne Lamott shared the following:  “Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor.  It will keep you insane your whole life.”

Your writing might not be perfect.  It might have grammaratical errors that would make your high school English teacher roll in her grave.  But if you do the work, it will be a completed project.  And it will be yours.

If you wait for perfection, you’ll be procrastinating forever.  Instead, let your head and heart dictate your writing.

2.  Get in the zone.

Sometimes, all it takes to propel you to action is a bit of inspiration.  Take a look at what you’ve accomplished so far.  Awaken the muse.  Let your past writing act as a springboard for your current project.

But don’t stay at this stage too long.  If you do, you’ll just perpetuate the problem.

Get your brain into writing mode quickly and then write!

3.  Create manageable tasks.

Have you been telling yourself, “I need to write a book”?  No wonder you haven’t gotten anything accomplished!  Instead, try:

• I need to create an outline.
• I need to edit my last chapter.
• I need to write a blog post.
• I need to write two paragraphs for my newspaper column.

A study at the University of Konstanz in Germany recently found that people are much more likely to tackle a concrete task rather than an abstract one.

Break your project up into manageable tasks.  You’ll feel so much more productive when you are able to cross something off your to-do list, and that will inspire you to want to do more.

Now that you are mentally prepared to actually get something accomplished…

Write Epic Shit

Write epic shit.  That sounds like a very daunting task.

Epic.  Not mediocre.  Not common or run-of-the-mill.  Not even great.

Epic.

Epic writing is something that makes people think.  It inspires people.  It changes lives.  It creates value.  It entertains.  It leads people to take action.  It blows people away with its usefulness.

There.  That’s not so challenging, is it?

You can write epic shit, as long as you do one little thing.

You must live epic stuff.  You must experience life.

John le Carre said:

“A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world.”

Epic writing won’t just happen.  You need to have real life experiences as a reference point.

Go out and try things.  Fail.  Succeed.  Live.

Then, let these experiences guide you when you sit down to write.  After all, you must first inspire yourself before you can inspire others.

Sober Up and Edit

Since only the novice writer is foolish enough to edit as he writes, you—the experienced writer—will need to make some serious edits after getting the first draft on paper.

Here are three things that will make the process more efficient.

1.  Edit the structure and content first.

There is a very real possibility you will need to cut big chunks of material.  During your first read through, look for chapters or sections that need to be removed, added, or revised.

After the big picture editing is done, you can worry about polishing every individual sentence.

2.  Cut at least 10% of your words.

Writers tend to be unnecessarily verbose.  We write wordy, long-winded sentences that can ramble on and on and on.

See what I did there?  I used more words than was necessary—which actually weakens the overall argument.

Read through your piece and look for places where you have repeated your point over and over.  Identify indecisive phrases.  Look for unnecessary adjectives.  Cut it all.

3.  Do your final edit backwards.

By the last stage of editing, you are super familiar with your own writing.  This makes it too easy to slide right past errors and mistakes.

Read your piece backwards—start with the last paragraph.  This will make you focus more on each individual sentence.

There you have it; motivation to accomplish some pretty epic shit and then write about it.

Oh, and thank you to Peter De Vries and Charlie Gilkey for providing us with the epic, drunken inspiration for this post.

About the Author: Steve Aedy is an in-house content manager and a custom essay writing expert for Freshessays.com. He think that the best way to overcome procrastination is to take a break for a couple of days and fly to the South Pole. Follow him on Google+

Image courtesy of Saint Urho

This is a guest post from Sue Ellen Rogers

How do you attract readers to your blog?

This is a guest post from Patricia Schuler

If you hate typing on a touchscreen (and who doesn’t), you might not think of your tablet or smartphone as a particularly helpful writing tool—but with the right apps, you can use your phone to stay organized, get fresh ideas, and even keep in touch with publishers. Of course, wading through the swamp of buggy, redundant apps out there is a pain, so we’ve done the heavy lifting for you.

Here are nine of the very best apps for writers, on both Android and iOS devices.

1. Android Troper

If you love reading and creating fiction, and you haven’t heard of TV Tropes, block a couple hours out of your schedule this weekend and get lost in a bottomless source of archetypes, themes, and creative ideas.

Android Troper provides a clean mobile interface to access the site from your phone, so you can spend your time in waiting rooms or on public transit enriching your worlds and identifying clichés in your writing.

It’s a fairly new app, so there are a few navigational quirks to overcome, but it’s definitely worth a look.

Cost: Free

2. Evernote

With Evernote, writers can snap photos, take notes, and even record videos and voice memos. The content syncs to all of the desktop or mobile devices you have connected via Evernote, so the results of your brainstorming are with you wherever you go. Evernote is the clear choice for writers looking for an easy way to stay organized and keep their thoughts in one place.

Evernote is especially great for when you aren’t able to write things down (like when you’re driving–be sure to wait ’til you stop before you use the app). And if you’re more of a pen-and-paper person, there’s also the new Evernote Smart Notebook, which includes a Moleskine with custom paper for even easier idea transfer and organization.

Cost: Free (the Evernote Smart Notebook ranges from $16 to $40, depending where you buy it)

3. Story Tracker

Story Tracker makes it easy to track what deadlines are looming, where you’ve sent your content, and which royalty checks are pending. There’s a “lite” version of this app that’s free, but it only lets you track 5 things at a time, so if you use it a lot, consider upgrading to the paid version.

Note: this app has no internal security options, so keep your financial and creative information secure with a PIN on your smartphone.

Cost: $7.99 for full version, free to download “lite” version

4. Writer

This app gives writers a smooth, easy-to-use space for content creation. If you need to write within the limitations of a mobile interface (and sometimes that happens), this is the app to do it with. It’s clean, attractive, and free.

The only user gripe with this app is the display is not optimized for retina displays or Table PCs (on large, high-res displays, Writer looks a bit grainy). Still, if you need to crank out content on a mobile device, Writer is hard to beat.

Cost: Free

5. iThoughtsHD

iThoughtsHD is a great way to hash out the structure and particulars of a piece you’re working on. Whether you’re outlining a plot, brainstorming new ideas or compiling thematic elements, this app is a great way for writers to create a visual representation of their brainstorming sessions.

iThoughts has a clean, easy-to-use interface, and is accessible on both Android and iOS devices.

Cost: $9.99

6. Write Chain

For you procrastinating writers who want to get into the habit of writing regularly, this app is perfect for you. It allows you to track your daily writing sessions, including how you felt about it and how many words you wrote. The idea is to not break the chain, which means you have to write every day.

Cost: Free

7. WordPress

You can update your blog on the go with the WordPress app. It gives you access to everything from your posts to your comments to your stats. You can add all of the blogs you own and manage them mobile-ly.

Cost: Free

8. Office Plus

Office Plus is a cool app that lets you write, edit, open, import and export Word documents. It can be a total lifesaver for times when you’re not in front of your computer, but you need to open a Word document.

Cost: Free to download, but you have to pay $9.99 if you want to be able to save your work

9. Dictionary and Thesaurus

This app by Dictionary.com is a must for all writers. You never know when you’ll need to look up the definition for something. Plus it also contains a built-in thesaurus.

Cost: Free

What apps do you use for writing on your phone?

About the Author: Patricia Shuler is a Mobile Moo staff writer from Oakland, California. She’s an admitted tech-junkie who’s quick to share her honest opinion on all things consumer electronic—including up-to-date news, user reviews on smartphones, tablets, Table PCs and laptops, and “no holds barred” opinions on a variety of social media, tech, computer, and mobile accessories topics.

This is a guest post from Bridget Sandorford

Banishing writer’s block isn’t just about using writing prompts and timers to get yourself back into the swing of writing. The type of writer’s block that those methods help to solve is more about having the motivation or the ideas necessary to make it work as a writer.

When what a blocked writer really needs is to calm her mind or to focus her mind on a single idea, those methods typically backfire because they just send the writer into a frenzy of writing without purpose. Instead, you can use physical movement to help you alleviate this type of writer’s block.

Take Short Walks

When you need to calm your mind, a quick 10-minute walk often does the trick. Sometimes creative people can become anxious when preparing to do their work.

Instead of writing, you may find yourself staring at your screen, fretting about the work that you have to do. Walking will give you the chance to put all of those thoughts in some type of order, determining what work is most important and how you will proceed when you return to your computer.

Do Jumping Jacks

Doing some type of intense cardio for a short burst can help to focus you when there are too many ideas floating around. Jumping jacks aren’t the only choice. Jogging in place for 30 seconds or even sprinting across the room, as silly as you may feel, can help.

The idea is to force your focus to move from the many writing-related ideas in your head to your body. Once you’re done, the writing ideas should settle, leaving only one or two occupying center stage in your mind.

Stretch

Sitting in front of a computer for hours on end makes our backs hurt and muscles get tense. When you’re in pain, your focus moves from writing to thinking about the muscle twitch in their leg or the slight pain in the small of the back.

When you hit this point, your writing suffers because you are focusing on it only for a few seconds at a time. The best answer is to stretch.

Take 10 minutes and really stretch out all of your muscles. Stand up and touch your toes or do slow lunges. Lift your arms over your head and then stretch them to each side.

Get rid of those niggling physical aches and pains can help you return to your writing without losing focus.

How do you use physical movement to banish your writer’s block?

About the Author: Bridget Sandorford is a grant researcher and writer for CulinarySchools.org. Along with her passion for whipping up recipes that incorporate “superfoods”, she recently finished research on culinary schools in Illinois and culinary schools in Orlando, Fla.

Image courtesy of Tony Alter