Writing Is Hard

Can I tell you something? Putting something down on a blank screen is hard. In previous years, it was Word. Now, it’s the pristine slate that is Medium that stares blankly back at me. Why do you have to be so clean and white and… vacant.

I never blogged before and I guess for millions of people who want to blog and can blog i.e. their work involves writing and they have the time to do so, the white screen is just so intimidating at times.

While I don’t blog as much as I’d like, I do create small content very often on social media. It might seem a cop out to say I’m busy but the fact is, long form content will take time and has an uncertain payout. Add to that the fact that people in general want to consume graphics and short form content more, means I’m more inclined to post on Facebook rather than here.

Another thing I do is answer questions. I find that this trigger, of someone who needs an answer to something (whether organically asked or something suggested by a machine) is enough to encourage me to write. I answer stuff in Quora most of the time and it helps that the topics are things I am interested in.

It also helps to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to ask online and get feedback on mundane things. This stirs up discussion which then leads you to write more. Often out of frustration, you’ll just blog the answer just so you stop rewriting replies and start pointing to links instead.

It also helps to ask questions.

But yeah, questions are definitely what you need to get over your writing hump. Here’s a few ways to collect questions you can answer:

1. Ask your customers. What’s bugging them? What do they need to know? You can use a tool like Intercom or just ask it the next time you meet a client.
2. Use question sites. Quora, as well as Yahoo! Answers and other sites, are surprisingly useful when you need to write about something. Follow a topic, look at the questions, and see which ones are relevant enough to you and your audience that you can write a blog post about it.
3. Scan online groups. If you’re a group junkie like me, you’ll know that active groups receive the same set of questions time and again. That means these are evergreen topics that are worthy enough to answer on your blog.
4. Read comments on similar blogs. It’s another version of “ask your customers” above but from other people’s audiences. Find the most asked questions here as well as on other comments on the content on Reddit, Twitter and other discussion platforms.