How to beat writers block and experiment boldly using tech

This week we’re talking about how tech can make a difference, starting with Bec Evans, co-founder of Write Track. Her startup helps writers finish projects and develop a regular writing habit along the way. Using Write Track, Wyl Menmuir wrote The Many, which was longlisted for the Man Booker prize last month. Here, Bec shares how to overcome writer’s block, get grit and get going…

I’ve worked with thousands and thousands of writers. I found that those that went to have success weren’t necessarily the ones that were most talented. And they weren’t the ones with the most ideas or the best ideas.

The ones who were successful built a writing habit.

This realisation coincided with the time I was getting really obsessed with tracking stuff on my iPhone. I thought, you can track your food, diet and exercise, but why isn’t there anything for creativity? That’s the thing that writers need help with the most. The original idea behind Write Track was to bring all these tools and persuasive technology together. Now people use it to write novels, dissertations for university, short stories, business writing and even poetry. It’s like a FitBit for creativity.

I used to run a residential writing workshops at Arvon and I found that writers don’t write for the same reasons why people don’t stick to their diet. Life gets in the way. People get distracted and they procrastinate, particularly with creative pursuits.

They just don’t have the kind of structures to help support them in this distracted world that we live in. There’s nothing more frustrating than a writer or an artist who doesn’t have time to do anything — they get wound up and unhappy.

So, how do you go for it?

It’s something that’s gotten easier as I’ve gotten older. I know that’s not comforting for women in their 20s, but it really gets much easier. Call everything an experiment. Just try it and if it doesn’t work, work out why it doesn’t work. You don’t have to do it again. You learn to be less embarrassed about your failures. If you call everything an experiment, it doesn’t matter what happens.

Say to yourself that you’re going to try this out for a week, because it doesn’t really matter. I’m a big advocate of “just f*ing do it.” J.F.D.I. — we’ve got it hanging up in our office. It works.