2022-10-26 Wed 13:22 PM ![[DALL·E 2022-11-09 11.44.40 - stepping stones across a glowing cosmic river with a majestic mountain monastery in the distance on the other side. digital art.png]] > [!-cf-]+ [[Related notes]] > - [[Hub. Experimental writing process techniques (list)]] > - [[CP 515 3-page active listening response paper based on 4 dyads 2022-10-23 Sun]]. > - More at [[Writing process lab notes 2022-10-24 Mon]]. This idea is related to [[Only write when it's easy]] — but where that note considers the path that if it's not easy to write you could go and do something else, this note holds steady the intention to write and looks at the possibility that rather than going to do something else, you could get creative about the next thing you could do that still counts as writing. There are many possible next steps you could take. If the one you have in mind feels painful, or hard, or you don't know how to do it — then it's probably not the right next step. *Maybe* that same step would be easy if you took a break and came back to it later; but maybe it would be just as hard because it hasn't changed and you still have basically the same skills and knowledge as before. So rather than blaming yourself for not being fit for the task, blame the task for not being fit for you. [[Fire the metaphor|Fire the framing]]. Keep searching for the right next step until you find one that's easy for real-actual-right-now you to do. Do the one you can actually do. 'Finding the next easy step', btw, is itself often the best easy next step. [[The managers want integration too]]; their contributions are valuable. Other possibilities include: - List out your [[Minimum viable paper]] requirements - [[Rubber duck]] — you could go for a walk and talk to yourself with an app like otter.ai, or you could call a friend and tell them about it, or you could write someone an email talking about your struggles - Puke out a [[Shitty first draft]] - [[Write about the question, rather than the answer]] - [[Write about a tiny part, rather than the whole thing]] Of course, sometimes you do need to just take a break and come back at it with fresh eyes. Maybe there is no easy next step. [[Only write when it's easy]]. (But see: [[Ref. Steve Martin 1996 - WRITING IS EASY!]])