How to avoid writer’s block
You never face a blank screen if you've got your antennae up and capture stuff all the time.
Question:
How do you avoid writer’s block? What do you do if you're just staring at a blank screen?
You're doing it wrong. Sitting down in front of a blank screen and waiting for magic to strike is a foolish approach IMO. Instead, you should have your antenna up all the time for good ideas. Have conversations with interesting people. Read good books. Step outside your comfort zone.
Move around with your antenna up and, when something zaps you, capture it in a notebook (what I did for years and still sometimes do), your phone (more common for me now), or voice memo/tiny handheld recorder (I tend to record voice memo ideas late at night – it’s amazing how the best ideas strike right before you go to sleep).
When it’s time to sit down in front of that screen, you’ll have a surplus of launch points to get rolling. In short, you should be writing a little bit all the time and then expanding on the best ideas when you’re able to really get in flow.
“I’m better at talking than writing.” Cool, a comedian’s job is to talk so you’re headed in the right direction. Talk stuff out on your own or with a friend and then transcribe that/listen back for the good bits and use those as your first draft.
FYI, I recently did a Q&A at Overit (cool marketing agency in Albany, NY) and spoke about my approach. Here’s a summary where I discuss this.
Writing things down is the basis of all ideas. Carry a journal with you wherever you go, who knows when inspiration may strike!?
Writing down your ideas can lead to creative new campaigns, a book, new business models, video ideas, and more.
Matt writes a lot of ideas in his phone, so if this is more your style than carrying a journal, it’s proven to work. “I’m able to capture in the moment and in flow, and then if it sticks around or seems worthwhile, eventually turns it into something.”
One more helpful idea, via David Perell: Write for One Person.
I heard that Warren Buffett addresses the early drafts of his shareholder letters to his sister, Dorothy.
Once he finishes it, he replaces her name with "Shareholders."
The lesson: Writing for a huge audience is a fast track to getting writer's block, so write for one person instead.