Writer’s block is your creativity engine stalling out, and it usually happens on a deadline. To get out of the jam, you need to shift your brain from neutral to drive.
Intermediate impossibles are the jumper cables you need to do it.
Get back into gear
Intermediate impossibles are the most illogical solutions to a problem you can think of. Because these solutions are impossible to perform, you're forced to keep thinking of more realistic ones.
Here’s an example of how I use them:
- I have to write a funny piece about ChatGPT today, and I wish I could get the SNL team to ghostwrite it for me.
Reject, try again.
- If I can't get the whole SNL team, I can get Trevor Noah to write it.
Again:
- If I can't get Trevor Noah to write it, I can write in Trevor Noah's jokes.
Finally:
- I don't know any Trevor Noah jokes, so I can get ChatGPT to impersonate Trevor Noah.
Each solution is more possible for my situation. More importantly, this process unblocked my creativity. I’m past the mile marker where I stalled out.
Now I'm imagining a piece about an SNL skit where TrevorGPT tries to host the Daily Show.
W.W.R.D?
- Next time you hit writer’s block, write down the most ridiculous solution to where you’re at
- Progressively chip away with illogical thinking
- Get back on track
About Kristen Dahlin
Kristen fell into content marketing between Disneyland gigs and Hawaiian weddings. With a few years of SEO-fueled freelance under her belt, she wandered into tech. That winding path eventually landed her as a founding team member of BRIL.LA.