That "just write one sentence" trick got me out of a 3 week writing block

I run a small blog about local hiking trails around Portland, and for almost a month I just could not get anything posted. Every time I sat down to write a trail review I'd stare at a blank screen for an hour then close the laptop. Finally after 3 weeks of nothing I tried this dumb thing I read in a comment somewhere. You just write one sentence about the trail, like "Powell Butte had fog this morning at 7am." Then you stop. No pressure to finish anything. I did that for two days in a row. Then on the third day I opened that document and I had two sentences already written so I added a third, then a fourth, and before I knew it I had a whole post done in like 20 minutes. It was such a simple fix that I feel silly for not trying it sooner. Has anyone else found a weird little method that broke a block like this?

2 comments

2 Comments

michaeljones23d ago

But doesn't that just train your brain to accept starting instead of finishing?

the_daniel24d ago

My running buddy says the SAME thing about tackling hills just keep moving one foot at a time.