The Crave
Weekly tips and stories that will help you do your job and make you smile (or groan).
By Sean Filidis December 2, 2021
Why writing is just like driving
(or thoughts on overcoming writer’s block)
Once, when I was learning to drive, my dad dropped a fatherly nugget of wisdom that I’ll never forget. I had just turned on the engine when he said, "Notice how difficult it is, son, to turn the wheel while the car is parked." I tried. It was hard. "Well, it’s the same in life," he continued. "Setting a direction is tough when you're standing still. Sometimes, you've just got to start moving forward."
"Well, it’s the same in life," he continued. "Setting a direction is tough when you're standing still.
Sometimes, you've just got to start moving forward."
My fifteen-year-old mind was blown. It's true, of course — both about cars and about life. Trying to choose a career path, for example, can feel paralyzing when you're a student. But once you've been working for a while, navigating becomes easier. When it comes to writing, I've found this little truth to be invaluable. Most of us have spent more time than we'd care to admit staring at blank Google Docs, trying to conjure words onto the page by force of will. (By the way, let me know if you ever get that to work.) The truth is, we don’t always know what we want to write about before we start. And that’s okay. Next time you’re stuck in that situation, struggling to get your first words out, or to choose a topic, here’s my advice to you: Just start writing. Write whatever floats to the forefront of your mind. Just get your fingers typing, and your brain will eventually catch up. At some point, ideas will start to solidify, paragraphs will coalesce, and you’ll know which direction to take. Trust me — that’s how I wrote this little story!
Let’s talk about it together!
Share your thoughts on LinkedIn using #thecravediscussion This week’s topic: I’d love to hear all the ways you get the creative juices flowing. What are your tricks for getting words onto stubborn pieces of paper? How do you manufacture inspiration when it doesn’t come on its own?
Currently craving
- Reading: Brandon Sanderson, a masterful fiction writer. That reminds me, don’t feel like you need to read all the latest non-fiction books to be a good writer. Almost everything I know about writing (and about life in general) came from reading stories.
- Listening: Time On Earth by Crowded House. Sure, they’re old guys now, but Neil Finn’s creative wordplay on this album is in a class of its own.
- Working on: 18 reasons to use Foleon Docs rather than PDFs. This was a fun project because it consists entirely of short, punchy bits of copy — which I love writing.
Sean Filidis
Senior Copywriter
About the author
Writer, tech junkie, marketer, musician, traveler, photographer. At Foleon, I’m generally in charge of words and enforcing strict company-wide comma quotas.