As a new writer, I often make the mistake of focusing on the wrong things.
Rather than focusing on writing and sharing content, I often block my creative process by thinking only about writing strategies and tools.
It is a constant struggle.
I overthink every detail of my writing. I want to get every bit to be perfect.
I want to write "original" content. But is there such a thing?
I'm reminded of a quote attributed to Picasso:
"Good artists copy; great artists steal".
But copying is not enough. All writing is a remix of old ideas sprinkled with your own perspective.
This is where curiosity comes in.
To write great things one strategy is to write about what you're curious about. If you write about what interests you, at some point, you'll go from good to great.
This is what writers like James Clear, Anne-Laure Le Cunff, and Gemma Milne did when they were starting out.
And this is the strategy I've followed with my 9 previous atomic essays about running. They were painless to write. I wrote about a topic of interest and shared my experiences.
Curiosity helps me filter what I want to write about.
So the next time you're stuck with a piece, ask yourself if you're curious enough about the topic. Drop the idea if you're not.
There are plenty of things to be curious and write about.
Go write about those ones instead!