The Creative Process

The creative process often fascinates me.

I sometimes get articles that are very specific, like how to get a better sale price on your home. Thatn was a pretty straightforward article that I banged out in no time, mostly based on my own knowledge so it required very little research.

Sometimes, I get more open ended assignments like, "write me two articles on Excel". I go through the "deer in the headlights" phase, where there are so many possiblities I just can't narrow it down. My favorite technique is to start poking around the web, not for research just for inspiration. Eventually I stumble across an idea that inspires me and the more I think about it, the more excited I get about it until the article just pours out of me. In this case, I came across a forum thread where people were listing unusual ways they were using Excel. This led to, "Crazy Things I've Done With Excel" and "Crazy Things Other People Have Done With Excel" (the latter were much more crazy than anything I've done).

That blank page syndrome is tough for any writer, and we each need to find our own ways past it.