How to beat blank page panic

‘How do you do it, week in week out?’

I’m now in my 7th year of writing articles every week (apart from the odd holiday, like last week). That’s around 350 of these missives.

And I often get asked how I come up with ideas.

Truth is, most weeks, I’m bursting with things to tell you.

But there are also some weeks when my well of ideas runs dry. Sooooo dry. Dryer than a hungover mouth after a night on the margaritas (I imagine.)

Or some weeks there’s a kernel of an idea, but I don’t know how to get going. The blank page feels overwhelming.

You might sometimes feel like this too.

And yes, it’s tempting to head straight to ChatGPT to get off the blocks. But when you do, AI’s got hold of the steering wheel from the start.

It doesn’t leave room for your ideas. Your views. Your human take.

So, I wanted to share 3 of my best writing ‘sparks’ – useful for getting started with everything from an everyday email to an article or presentation.  

Why do they work better than AI to get you out of a funk?  

Because they help you tap into your empathy and emotions.

And that’s vital if you want to actually connect with people rather than just transmit information.  

So try these on for size (use one or all of them at a time):

1. How do I want my reader to feel after reading this? Just naming the emotion can be a powerful motivator e.g. reassured, excited, curious, understood, shaken up. You get clarity.

   
   

2. What would I say if I didn’t give a sh*t?  This helps you write in a more conversational, less self-conscious way.  Once I’ve edited the spicy swearing out of my brain dump, there’s normally some gold to be panned.

   
   

3. What happens if I don’t write this? Maybe nothing! But for me, not sending you this email each week would mean letting you down. As an ‘upholder’ personality type, that’s a huge motivator. What’s yours?

Hope these help – that’s a wrap on email #351 (ish)!