I've got writer's block at my new job. How to un-clog?

I've worked in marketing/PR roles at two different universities. I've gotta say, I don't get this: "my co-workers and senior writer are all so serious and have many, many criteria/rules/expectations while I'm more... laidback. " There's no such thing as being laidback in marketing/PR. You've got an entire university of staff and faculty trying to get around you, because they don't respect what you do, as well as nothing but endless deadlines that have got to be met in a high quality manner. The last thing your boss/co-workers want to do is have to worry about one of their own not understanding why their work is so important or wondering what the big deal is. From everything you've said and how you've said it, you're in the wrong role; more than that, it seems you're either not willing or are unable to buckle down and power through the parts you don't like. Changing the wording of someone else's article and then publishing the content/interview as your own (because you didn't want to call a person for new content?) isn't cool. And, while you say that a co-worker told you it was inappropriate, it was actually the person who assigned you the story -- so, the supervisor of the story said you plagiarized. That's not good. If you're doing things like that, as well as complaining that your boss/co-workers are too uptight about their work, you have little chance of getting a good recommendation for a lateral transfer, let alone a promotion to work you want to be doing. Your goal right now should be to get people in your corner, but it sounds like you're slacking off in a highly noticeable way (because your co-worker/supervisor mentioned it) because you don't want to engage the subjects of your stories or your audience. I just really, really think you're in the wrong role, and you may want to sit down with your boss and talk about some of this. Is your university's probationary period usually 4-5+ months long, or has your boss extended it? If not for those issues above, my advice would be to look at other articles that have been written and use them as inspiration for how to start your stories (and I don't mean take their words); write the body of your story and then do the intro last (I never write chronologically); and then buckle down and do your best job possible until you can get into something you like. There are parts of my current university job that I really don't like, but the hope/expectation that rocking it out of the park will lead to Better Things inspires me to work harder and better. And, guess what, my boss is going to bat for me. FWIW, I left a university seven years ago, because I hated interviewing people/writing stories, even though I love writing. And now I'm at a smaller university, doing more planning, design, editing, and proofing, and a lot less of the marketing writing. I write for a Department's Website and for its academic programs, but that's about it. I love it, while I would never go back to the job at the first university. So, I understand where you're coming from, but I really worry that your attitude toward the job and your work product itself is going to sink you before you have any chance to improve your job situation.

Former college PR/marketing director here. If I'd found out that you plagiarized - during your probationary period! - and yes, "borrowing" from another article is indeed plagiarism - and tried to rationalize it the way you've done here (or worse, submitted it as your own, leaving me to deal with the shit that could very well ensue if anyone notices - and be assured, someone will probably notice), I'd cut my losses and cut you loose. Also, a huge part of being a writer - whether you're writing feature articles, postcard copy, social media posts or instructions - is accepting that everybody has an opinion, and sometimes the person up the org chart wins even when you're convinced what you've written is perfect. (I still think the tagline I came up for last summer's enrollment campaign was 1000 times better than the one we ended up with, but my VP insisted that "we don't do whimsy" and any time I'd spent fighting would have left me less time to execute the campaign.) It's hard, but you have to get to the point where you think of your work as letters organized into words in the best way you knew how - which may or may not be the best way, or the way they end up in print. I don't doubt that you have writer's block, but it comes across as more of a paralysis brought on by your resistance to the rules and structure that are baked into this particular job. You're not going to be able to change that, especially in an academic environment, so I'd suggest you redirect that mental energy into doing the best job you can while you're there so you can get a good reference, and also start looking for another job. And now you know the kind of organizational culture questions you should be asking when you are interviewing - to make sure you will be happy with the job as it is, not as you imagine it will be.

Agree with many of the previous answers that this just doesn't sound like it's the right job for you (and it sounds like you know this, too). And that's fine! Writing fiction is very different from PR or journalistic writing, and, even more fundamentally, writing for yourself is entirely different from writing professionally. From what you've told us, your employers' expectations on pitching, editing, original content, etc. sound reasonable, but if they're making you miserable, then maybe it's time to move on. While you're still at the job, though, a few suggestions: -Editing: Going to agree with kat518 here. Getting to have your writing read and edited before it's published by people with a vested interest in improving your work can be stressful, but it's also both a privilege and an incredible perk. There is literally no writer in the world who doesn't benefit from having their work read over, and many people pay editors to read over their work. You're getting that service routinely and for free! -Beginnings: Advising people to start writing in the middle is probably a cliche at this point, but it works. Get paragraphs out on the page. You can organize them later, and write a snappy intro once you're done. --Writing more: In my experience, I've found that not writing too much can turn into something of a disastrous cycle -- the less I'm producing, the more invested I am in the few things I am working on, which makes me more stressed out, more resistant to editing, more perfectionist and more blocked. If you're writing a bunch every day, you have less time to get unhealthily attached to whatever you're working on, and it'll (hopefully!) get easier to move onto the next thing. And lastly, about the plagiarism. I don't want to be too harsh, but your attitude toward this is just really, really out of touch with professional norms. There are situations when it's OK to cite already published works, although I don't know if your job is one of them. But if you're doing it, you need to be excruciatingly clear about the fact that you're referring to another story and you need to be using it in a context that's substantially different, and as a supplement to whatever else you're writing about the topic, not just "rewording" things. If you don't instinctively see "borrowing" facts and quotes as problematic, despite your coworkers' opinions, we're probably not going to convince you otherwise (this is probably my main reason for thinking you'd be happier in a different role). But you should understand that plagiarism, along with fabulism, is going to be seen by most people as pretty much the cardinal sin of writing, and having even the implication of it attached to you is going to be professional poison. If you can do nothing else to improve your performance or enjoy your role more, stop doing this. If it's a pain or a waste of time for you to talk to someone and confirm information that you basically already knew, it's still a million times better than straying over the wrong side of the line on this.

You appear to be unusually out of touch with the qualifications for this position. You're also behaving unprofessionally. Journalism is absolutely about taking your writing seriously, following rules, and making sure you're citing sources. Your colleague was right in encouraging you to avoid plagiarizing existing work just because you don't think it's worth your time to do your own research and write your own stories. I think you have two choices here: you either get an attitude/reality check and pull yourself together, or you need to quit and look for a less structured writing environment. Right now this sounds like a real mismatch for you.

I never know HOW to begin the story, how to make it eye-catching. Grab a stack of the past 10-15 issues of this magazine (or check out its archived online presence), and work out what your department and boss like in a profile piece. There are going to be a couple of formulas they prefer. Analyze intros, overall structure, use of quotes, level and kind of descriptive detail, etc. Work out the most-loved patterns, and apply them to your next couple of pieces. Maybe rewrite one or two of your old ones for practice. seeing all the feedback/suggestions/corrections. Lots of choices are defensible. A lot of the changes and suggestions people are offering reflect their taste, or habits acquired at some important point in their development as writers. Also, it's a rare thing for people to resist making changes, given the opportunity - everyone wants to leave their mark. (Even when they don't care, or have a firm view - sometimes it's just so that others can see that they do have an opinion. Sometimes, people like getting into futzing because it's a break from the more boring stuff on their plate. Sometimes, it's completely justified.) Expect this. Just write the thing, and understand that it's no longer yours once you pass it off (i.e. divest yourself of your attachment to it). Take it for granted that your boss' taste is what matters. Write the thing and let it go.

You should read the first essay in Ann Patchett's book This is the Story of a Happy Marriage.

Check out http://www.publicationcoach.com, which is a newsletter (among other things) by Daphne Gray-Grant. She has a lot of good advice about basic things like leads, inspiration, writer's block, etc. You may be a writer but you don't sound like a journalist. Even if you are doing marketing/PR writing, there are basic journalistic rules you have to follow. It may feel like a waste of your time to reinterview people but it's not a waste of time to your employer. It is, in fact, part of your job description even if that's not actually written down. Try to stay afloat until you either find a new job or a new attitude. And kudos for being honest about your struggle. There are a lot of jobs I don't want to be in because the demands of those jobs do feel like of a waste of my time. If you don't like most of what your job entails, including the many revisions (and I feel your pain, I do), then by all means start looking for a new job.

I think you should reboot your expectations of yourself as a writer. If starting is hard, begin at the ending, and work backwards. Write your last 'graph first with a concise summation or a great quote. Calling people up for quotes and more info is usually the fun part, for me anyway. Asking questions and getting answers can often spark a catchy way to get into the story. And writing for a living is re-writing for a living.

As someone who writes corporate communications stuff for a living, I can throw this out for what it's worth: You said: Another struggle is seeing my stories be sent to my senior writer (who supervises/oversees my work), as well as other co-workers, if applicable, and even my supervisor (which is the main director of the PR office) and seeing all the feedback/suggestions/corrections. I say: In any public relations/corporate writing gig, there will always be multiple layers of review and approval. It's a fact of the job. You can work with it by logging the feedback you get and work that in to how you write in the future. You will suss out preferences and not chafe at a given style (AP is a style "guide" for a reason - it's not a set of handcuffs). There are a number of reasons why this is - promoting a certain "brand" for the school, ensuring the quality of the writing is consistent, etc. The moments when my life is profoundly easy at work are the instances when I submit a piece of writing for review by a senior executive and the reply is simply "Good to go," or "I like it. Send it out." What I've written is not what I'd choose to say, necessarily, but my job is to choose words (and ask all the questions about the how/whys/whens and answer those) for them. Praise from the heavens, it is, when it sails through final approval without question. You can get a good feel for the style/format they want by reading examples of previously-published writing in the publications/websites you're being asked to write for. As http://ask.metafilter.com/285623/Ive-got-writers-block-at-my-new-job-How-to-un-clog#4138246, read everything you can get your hands on that will tell you what the "taste" or style is. If you're not able to digest that and get a feel for the writing they're looking for, then you may not be the writer for them. I actually dread getting a new story because I would have to go through the entire rigmarole of starting a new story Do you feel like you can take a story idea and run with it (which I suspect you're being asked to do)? http://ask.metafilter.com/285623/Ive-got-writers-block-at-my-new-job-How-to-un-clog#4138248: Even if you are doing marketing/PR writing, there are basic journalistic rules you have to follow. It may feel like a waste of your time to reinterview people but it's not a waste of time to your employer. It is, in fact, part of your job description even if that's not actually written down. Agree with Bella Donna here. To me, the "plagiarism" incident seems like an opportunity lost. Presumably you had the option of getting in touch with alumni and saying "Hi. I write for [school's publication/website]. You've gotten some great coverage here and here. Do you mind chatting for a few minutes about your play?" Chances are, they would have said "yes" (and if not, nothing ventured, nothing gained), and if they said "yes," you could have asked them an alumni-focused question about how their campus experience helped them get this play off the ground, about the theatre program at the school, etc. So the process of gathering fodder for writing copy can be as fun and interesting as you make it, and help you produce good work your bosses are thrilled with. Your day will become way more interesting by picking up the phone and talking to people about things they're passionate about (and, if I guess correctly, you'll be talking to researchers at the university who are way into their work, and alumni who have gone on to Great Things, and they'll talk your ear off about it, to the point where this stuff can write itself).