No way around it, I’ve had writer’s block for the last few weeks. No excuses. Unfortunately, the only way to get through it is by writing.
You don’t get stronger without lifting some weight, and you don’t become a better writer without writing. So here’s some advice for me, that I should follow but choose not to. Please follow this advice Vlad.
List of writer’s block cures:
1) If I’m not sure what to write about, a good starting point is what people come to me for advice on. Weirdly, in the last two weeks three people have asked me to look at their resumes for feedback. Even if it’s not something I considered writing about, having recently completed a job hunt, maybe I have a perspective to add. A good starting point.
2) Filter lessons learned. Reading, podcasts, YouTube, Power Rangers reruns. Lessons are all over the place. Writing down key points helps to commit the knowledge to memory. And it’s a good step to writing through the block.
3) Absurd lists. This one came to me while riding on the train late one night. Think of a ridiculous topic, and make a list from it. “Ten businesses I’d start if I was a hamster.” Force orthogonal thinking (thanks for the great word Naval!). And yes, this was an actual writing topic.
4) The smallest possible first step. I hate cleaning. But I’ve found that I can hack my brain to clean if I do the smallest possible thing. Something as simple as picking up a sock, and it triggers a cleaning demon in me. Same thing here, this post started as a single bullet on advice for writers block.
In spite of my Chaga and Racitam experiments, I’ve yet to find a pill that makes me a better writer. Only writing can. Hopefully these first steps will help me break the block.
