This one trick Star Trek writers used will kill your writer’s block every time

When you get writer’s block, you’re in a battle between yourself and your own mind. You might be moving along, but if you hit a difficult problem, suddenly you lose all motivation.

But the writers of Star Trek had one trick they used that beamed their writer’s block to a galaxy far, far away.

When you struggle with writer’s block, you need to keep momentum. This is easy when you are writing what you know. When you come across something you don’t know, you get stopped dead in your tracks.

The writers of Star Trek were experts in plot and character, but they weren’t experts on space travel in the twenty-fourth century.

So they had a trick they used over and over again. When they got stuck, they would just write “tech” in the script.

Here’s former Star Trek writer Ron Moore:

We had science consultants who would just come up with the words for us and we’d just write ‘tech’ in the script. You know, Picard would say ‘Commander La Forge, tech the tech to the warp drive.’ I’m serious. If you look at those scripts, you’ll see that. —Ron Moore, former Star Trek writer

The Star Trek writers had consultants that helped them with technical details, but even if you don’t have a team of consultants at your beck and call, you can still use this trick.

Creative work doesn’t happen linearly. It’s messy and iterative. While doing creative work, you’re constantly switching mental states. You’re writing prose, checking your sentence structure, and making sure things are accurate.

This is fine if you’re not challenging yourself. But when you come across a tough problem, it’s easy to get stuck. You can lose your momentum and wear yourself out. The next thing you know, you’re scrolling through Facebook.

The key to overcoming writer’s block is to manage your mental energy so you can maintain momentum, but still do great work.

There are seven mental states of creative work. The more you switch mental states, the more you risk getting stuck. Here’s a quick review:

1. Prioritization: Establishing priorities.
2. Generation: Creating the work.
3. Exploration: Following your curiosity.
4. Research: Answering specific questions.
5. Polish: Putting on the finishing touches.
6. Administration: Taking care of the pesky details.
7. Recharge: Resting to replenish your energy.

The trick the Star Trek writers used was brilliant because it allowed them to stay in one mental state. The “Generation” mental state (not to be confused with “The Next Generation” mental state). The consultants took care of the “Research” mental state.

Even if you don’t have consultants, you can still use this trick. Instead of assigning the research to your consultants, assign it to a future version of yourself. When you come across a tough problem, [put it in brackets]. Come back and do the research later.

Writer’s block is a formidable opponent. But if you focus your creative energy, you can blast it all the way to the Delta Quadrant. When you feel resistance pushing you off-track, ask yourself if you’re switching mental states. Stay in the state you’re in, set a reminder, and do the rest later. It’s like putting yourself in the replicator, and sending your clone into the future.

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