8 Tips for Writing Sucessfully in Front of the Small Screen

Struggling to find time to update your blog. Yet you never miss your favorite TV shows or somehow find yourself watching "Roeasanne" again, c'mon "Roeasanne". What channel even has the audacity to still play that show anyway.

You could be writing right now. Or least sitting there with pencil and paper in hand looking like a writer. Don't worry we'll get your hand moving across that page. This post will cover some tips to make things happen in front of the small screen.

1. Relax

Your writing can't be as bad as another episode of "Night Court".

2. Love the Reruns

Usually reruns are boring. "Seinfield" isn't so funny the 5th time. But when its time to write in front of the TV reruns are your best choice. The more times you've watched a show the easier it will be for you to tune it out and write. In fact buy some "Friends" DVDs and play them while prime time is on. You might miss the next "Prison Break" or "24", but you'll write better. Who am I kidding. I'm not missing my favorite shows.

3. Embrace Distraction

There is a reason your in front of the boob tube. Either your feeling tired, lazy, bored, stress-out, or your just procrastinating. In any case your there for distraction. Well writing is as good a distraction as any.

4. Accept that Your Not Shakespeare

Clearly the greatest poets of all time didn't write in front of the TV, which is good. It takes the pressure off. You don't need a muse flowing through you to get some good ideas down on paper. Your also there ready with pencil in hand if lighting does strike. And we're bloggers anyway. Not poets for god's sake. Take that black turtle neck sweater off.

5. Let Your Ideas Flow

Don't furrow your brow with concentration. You didn't sit down in front of the TV to concentrate. Just let the ideas flow without pressure.

6. Capture Your Thoughts

This isn't the time to do your most detailed writing or work on polishing a draft. It is a great time to come up with some ideas. Make lists of topics for your blog, or lists of headlines that interest you, sketch out some concepts, or write a rough article outline.

7. Turn Off the Editor

If inspiration comes run with it. This is a great time to turn off that internal editor. Don't worry about misspellings or bad ideas. Just run with your thought process. You'll be surprised at how much good stuff comes out. You might surprise yourself and bang out a good first draft during a 30 minute episode of, yet again, "Cheers".

Even if you end up cutting out half of your writing once you go to edit later on that's OK. This is work you might not have gotten written down any other way. Would you have found the energy or the time otherwise?

8. Have Fun While Finding Your Voice

Writing in Front of the TV is a great way to inject some of your personality into your posts. Your relaxed, your defenses are down, your just having fun writing. Its a good way to find your voice.

Worst Case Scenario

If all else fails you could actually watch that episode of "Law and Order" for the eighth time, which is what you sat down to do anyway.

Now tell the truth. How many of you have been writing in front of the TV lately?