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LM: #307: The true source of writer’s block
Some people say writer’s block doesn’t exist. It does, but it doesn’t have to.
If you don’t know what to write, the most common root cause is, you don’t know the information. So if you don’t know what to write, it’s usually because you don’t know what you’re trying to write.
That begs the question, What makes you think you can know what you’re trying to write before you write it?
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There are two kinds of writing: deductive, and inductive. Deductive writing is writing what you know. Inductive writing is writing to find out what you know.
Imagine you have two pens: One is blue, and you know it writes in blue. Another is white, but you don’t know in what color it writes.
With the blue pen, you can write, “This pen writes in blue,” because you already know that. But with the white pen, you can’t say what color it writes in, because you don’t know. If you wait until you know the information to start writing, you’ll be waiting forever. Once you write, “This pen,” you’ll know what color it writes in. Then you can write the rest.
Writer’s block is often caused by trying to take a deductive approach to what’s better served by an inductive process.
You’re expecting to write something true. But to get to the truth you have to be willing to first risk writing something false.
Aphorism: “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” —Thomas Edison
Cool: Patreon’s “State of Create Report” gives the state of the creator economy (in a pretty banging design!)
Best,
David
P.S. Submit your questions for the next week’s AMA/Livestream.
