Does this happen to you? You’ve got an article assignment, and you’re all excited.

You get your research organized, and interviews if needed. You feel like you’re making good progress.

Then it comes time to write it up.

And you freeze.

That blank page is just mocking you.

Nothing.

And that deadline is looming in your face. Soon, you’ll have to face your editor and tell her your piece isn’t going to be ready on time.

What’s happened here?

You’ve got a complex.

You know your topic…and yet you can’t seem to organize all the bits and pieces of information into a coherent whole.

You can’t find the starting point.

You’re dead in the water.

How do I know about this? Well, I am the queen of this non-starter complex.

Especially if it’s my first article for a brand-new client. Massive, massive complex.

Much woe and teeth-gnashing ensues, and/or compulsive inhaling of entire bag of dark-chocolate Lindt truffles.

Fortunately, I know how to snap out of it and get the article done — even if the piece has a ton of different interviews and research I need to weave in.

Here are seven strategies for cracking the blank-page problem and getting your article written, and written well:

1. Re-read the publication. You probably looked it over when you researched this market, but crack it open (or read it online) again now. Study their articles — how do they start? What’s the tone? How do they use quotes? Subheads? How do they end? Now, close your eyes and imagine the piece you’re writing in this publication. Often, you can envision the opening immediately by doing this.
2. Start anywhere. Don’t get hung up on the first line or sentence. If you know the end, write that. Got a section of bullet-points in the middle that are easy? Knock them out. Now, you’ve beat the blank page and are well begun.
3. Read and highlight notes. If you’re nervous about whether the material you need is all there, read and highlight all your notes. By the time you’re done, you’ll know whether you have all the information you need — or if you’re stumped because you need to find an expert to interview because you don’t know enough about your topic yet.
4. Create an “idiot’s outline.” Making a real outline, where you graph what points will go where, has always seemed like a time-waster to me, especially for a 500-word or shorter article. Instead, create a source outline — simply list each source you have and the most important points they make, in any order. List any important stats you want to use, too. Now, you have a pithy list of the most important things to say in your article. Put them in order of priority, and you’re ready to write.
5. Set the quotes. Sometimes, it helps to pull out the few great quotes you know you want to use and write them out. Then, start writing the lead-up and follow-on paragraphs that go around it…and by then, you’re well on your way.
6. Write without notes, exact quotes or attribution. One of the biggest writing problems comes when we stop and start all the time to look up facts and name spellings and the precise wording of quotes we want to use, and other trivia. Instead, let all the fine details go and simply begin to tell the story. Let it flow out in a fast first draft. Leave a short blank if you need to look something up. Then, you can go back and check facts once you have a draft.
7. Check your knitting. As you write, look at the transitions you create between paragraphs. Each one should follow smoothly and logically from the one before it. If you’re finding that hard to do, your material may need reorganizing. Writing strong transitions is often the difference between a disjointed article that loses readers and a great one that’s read through to the end — and gets the author another assignment.

Having trouble getting your article written? If you worry that you don’t have the journalism chops to tackle the big-money article assignments, check out my new class with Linda, 4-Week J-School. We take you through how to find great topics, conduct interviews, find credible research, write a top-flight article, and avoid legal problems with your writing, all in a month flat. Through tomorrow, we’ve got some cool early-registration bonuses, too, including a free copy of Linda’s ebook Get Unstuck.

Carol Tice of Make a Living Writing surveyed more than 200 writers to find out what was holding them back from reaching the level of success they wanted.

The result? Many of you are confused about the nitty-gritty details of journalism — ethics, research, crafting an article, newsgathering, generating salable story ideas, and more.

To help writers gain confidence and earn more, we created the 4-Week J-School. We removed the J-school fluff you don’t need (the history of media? really?) and condensed the rest into four 1-hour sessions that are packed with valuable information. We also made the price tag much nicer: Journalism school can cost up to $30,000, but we’re doing it all for just $295.

You’ll learn:

• Story ideas that sell: What makes a salable idea — and where to find ideas that will knock editors’ socks off.
• Newsgathering 101: How to find the best sources for your articles, get the most out of an interview, and find solid statistics to bolster your query or article. (AND — how to avoid misleading statistics and sources with an agenda.)
• Article writing intensive: How to write an article that will impress an editor, including writing headlines, ledes, sharpening your writing style, deciding on a story type, using quotes, and weaving in experts.
• Journalism ethics 101: We’ll answer all the questions you have about conflict of interest, libel, plagiarism, accepting gifts from sources, reselling ideas, and much more.

Students of the 4-Week J-School also get:

• Four live, 1-hour phone sessions where you’ll learn from two seasoned freelancers and get a chance to ask them your questions in real-time.
• Downloadable recordings and full transcripts for each session.
• A free month of access to the Freelance Writers Den (ordinarily $25), where Carol, Linda, and other professional writers will answer your followup questions and critique your assignments.
• Guidance to write a 500-word, reported article and have it critiqued by two pros.
• Dozens of pages of helpful written materials and resource links that will heighten your learning.

If you enroll before Tuesday, May 14, you also get:

• A free copy of Linda Formichelli’s e-book Get Unstuck! for Freelancers : A 6-Week Course to Boost Your Motivation, Organization, and Productivity—So You Can Do More Work in Less Time, Make More Money, and Enjoy the Freelance Lifestyle.
• All about Query Letters and Letters of Introduction — A bonus 1-hour recording and handout from Carol and Linda’s Freelance Writers Blast Off class. J-school doesn’t train writers on how to pitch — they assume you’re all getting staff writer jobs. (So 1997!) So we’ll fill in the gap with this training module on how to contact editors and get assignments.

We’re running the 4-Week J-School only twice this year, and we limit each class to 30 students — so if you’re interested, sign up now!

If you want to gain the knowledge and confidence to become an accomplished freelance writer, read more details — plus testimonials for our other course, the Freelance Writers Blast Off — on the 4-Week J-School page.

• Fear of rejection.
• Fear of making a mistake that will doom your chances.
• Fear of looking stupid & being embarrassed.
• Fear of picking up the phone.
• Fear of bugging a prospect by contacting them.
• Fear of success. (Yes!)
• Fear of not knowing enough.

Fear (have you guessed it?) is the number one thing that holds freelance writers back from achieving success — so I’m psyched to discuss this important topic and answer your questions in real-time. The call will be on Friday, May 11 at 12 pm ET (9 am PT).

To get the details on how to join this free call, sign up on Carol’s site. If you already belong to her e-mail list, you’ll receive the details as well.

I look forward to seeing you on the call on Friday at 12 pm ET! [lf]

I know this can be scary for newer writers — and I know it because a few of them always end up setting e-mail interviews so they don’t have to face the source by phone.

Some writers will argue that e-mail interviews are fine. You ask questions, the source answers them. Done! E-mail interviews also have the advantage of giving the source a chance to really think about her answers, these writers say. And what if your source is overseas?

But unless you really, really can’t get a key source to agree to an interview any other way, I advise against doing e-mail interviews. (And the operative word here is “key” — if the source isn’t absolutely essential to your article, you can find someone who is willing to talk on the phone.) Here’s why.

1. You get canned answers. The benefit of phone (or in-person) interviews is that you see the source as he really is and get unfiltered answers to your questions. Sometimes, the answers to questions you didn’t ask make the best quotes. But with an e-mail interview, you’re basically giving the source permission to spin his own answers — and you often end up with canned, sanitized corporate-speak, which makes for terrible quotes. Not good.

2. You waste time. Writers often think they’ll save time by shooting off their questions and just sitting back and waiting for the answers. But the benefit of phone interviews is that if questions that aren’t on your list come up as you do the interview — which they will — you can just ask them right then. With an e-mail interview, you have to e-mail the source each time a new question comes up, and wait for the source to reply to each one — resulting in a time-consuming back-and-forth that’s less likely to get all your questions answered.

3. E-mail interviews are easy to put off. I used to do e-mail interviews occasionally before I wised up, and one major drawback is that sources don’t treat them as seriously as phone interviews. With a phone interview, you set a date and time and (usually) the source is there when you call. With an e-mail interview, you send your questions and even if you give a deadline for responses, chances are you’ll get the answers back only after days of nudging the source — which means you risk rushing at the last minute or even missing your deadline.

4. Many editors don’t like them. If you actually ask your editor whether she’ll accept an e-mail interview, she’ll probably agree to one only if it’s a key source and he refuses to speak on the phone. And don’t think you can just adopt a “don’t ask don’t tell” policy: Technically, when you quote from an e-mail interview you’re supposed to append the quote with “said Jones in an e-mail interview.” You got it — if you do it right, you’ll be outed as someone too lazy to do proper reporting.

5. There are no excuses. “What if my source is overseas?” you may ask. To that I say, there are many ways around this. For example, Skype is often an option; I interviewed someone in Taiwan via Skype just last week. If the source doesn’t have Skype, you can ask the editor if the publication will cover phone expenses, so you don’t have to shell out for an international call. And if all else fails: Consider it a cost of doing business and deduct the expense from your taxes. (You are earning enough from this assignment to make a $10 call worth it, right?)

Okay, so I’ve convinced you to try for phone interviews whenever you can. But what about you writers who are simply too scared to conduct an interview? Check out these blog posts that will help you become a fearless interviewer.

• My Dirty Little Secret — and 5 Ways to Beat Your Fear of Interviewing Sources
• Are You a Phone-Phobic Freelancer?
• Bust My Excuse: I Don’t Know How to Find Experts — Or Make Them Talk!
• How to Deal with Difficult Interviewees

What do you think — are you okay with e-mail interviews or do you think writers should interview via phone (or in-person)? [lf]

You’re a long-time freelancer, and you know a lot of freelancers who have been freelancing for 10, 20 years, or more. What kinds of attributes do they have in common?

Freelancers who thrive over the long haul have solid writing and marketing skills, of course. But they’re also able to adapt to an ever-changing industry, to continue to learn new skills, and to grow their careers in new directions. Personality-wise, almost all of them are flexible, independent, and resilient.

What do you mean by resilient?

To me, resilience describes the ability to get knocked down and get back up. All freelancers experience rejection, for example. Resilient writers are able to let rejections slide off of their backs and move on to the next potential market without letting it derail you or doubt your abilities as a writer. Resilient writers also adapt to changes in the freelance market and to move with the industry instead of against it. And they have an inner toughness that allows them to continue freelancing.

So how can new writers to develop resilience?

Keep in mind that when you freelance, everyone has an opinion about your work. Your query may be stellar but it may be rejected for a host of reasons that you have no control over. A rejection is only of that particular idea by that particular editor of that particular magazine. It’s not personal.

Your best response? Send out a new query to the editor who rejected you, and get that other query out to a market that may be interested in it.

Second, avoid a catastrophic mindset. I see a lot of new writers who immediately assume the worst when something bad happens, along the lines of, “oh no! The source isn’t available! I’ll miss my deadline!” Assume that every aspect of an assignment—lining up sources, interviewing them, writing the piece—will take longer than you expect, and plan accordingly.

And remind yourself of the times when you’ve faced a challenge and risen to it. Even if you’re a new writer, I’m sure you’ve overcome obstacles in your personal and professional life. That’s what creates resilience in someone.

What about more experienced writers?

I think that the longer you freelance, the more resilient you become. You have a story killed. (It’s happened to me a dozen times.) You survive. You become more resilient. You lose a client—a big client. You find another client to replace that one you lost. You become more resilient. I think another aspect of being resilient as a freelancer is to never rely too heavily on one or two clients—you want to have your “regulars,” but you want some diversity too to help protect your business .

Apart from the way you run your business, I think there are a couple of other aspects to developing resilience. Having fellow freelancers as friends who you can turn to for advice or commiseration definitely helps. And I’m a big believer in physical exercise, not just for your body but for your psyche as well. I feel calmer and more in control of my business after a good run or workout, so I make time for that every workday.

Do you write about resilience in your new book, Writer for Hire?

I had to double-check! I do talk about it in secret #44, Develop a personal persona. (Check out the book’s table of contents here.) Quoting from the book:

Develop resilience. Let me tell you, not every day of freelancing is all sunshine and roses. Some days stink. Some days I really don’t want to freelance anymore, and the idea of returning to a “real” job (complete with paid vacations, sick days, and free coffee!) sounds really attractive. But I also know that these days are part of any career, no matter how much you enjoy it.

If you had a bad day at work, you’d chalk it up to just that—a bad day. You wouldn’t question your entire career strategy. So don’t let a rejection or a harsh note from an editor make you question your ability or desire to freelance. Learn how to shrug it off and keep going.

I think that’s good advice—to accept that bad things will happen to you. That’s part of freelancing (and life, too). But awesome things can will happen to you as a freelancer too. Building a successful career takes time, some talent, and commitment. But as you stick with it (and follow the advice in my new book!), you’ll find you become more resilient—and hopefully more successful—along the way.

*****

Kelly James-Enger has been a fulltime freelancer, ghostwriter, and author for 15+ years. Her books include the just-released Writer for Hire: 101 Secrets to Freelance Success (Writer’s Digest, 2012) — which includes 101 strategies to make more money as a freelancer, and addresses topics like business management and work-life balance — and Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer’s Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books (CreateSpace, 2010). She blogs about making more money in less time as a freelancer at Dollars and Deadlines, and lives outside Chicago with her husband, son, daughter, and golden retriever. Visit Kelly’s website for more information about her.