Goodreads asked Manish Grover:

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Manish Grover Since I write mostly business content, I work out in my mind the theme or the broad outline of what I'm going to write even before I sit down to write. On an average I write one blog a week and have written a book in 2014 (which I personally think is awesome!).I'm always on the lookout for a "twist". My writing comes from providing readers with a new angle on what is commonly being discussed.

In short, my approach is very similar to what has been summarized in the book "The Challenger Sale". Start with what can be done better, or what is missing in the current approach.

Here is a process that that works for me for my blogs:

1. I read related content on the topics I like (customer experience, analytics, digital) on twitter, LinkedIn and on publications like Inc.com and Forbes.com to name a few.

2. More often than not, a topic generally catches my eye (is of great interest to me). I then think of the missing ingredients. What else is missing? Is this author missing a key prerequisite to accomplish the things which are being mentioned?

3. As I frame these questions in my mind, I research them a little on google.

4. With that, I now have the material for a 500-700 word blog post. Every post that I write thus is original and brings something new to the table. I steer away from rehashing already published content.

For my book, the process is different. I'm now writing my second book and I don't hold myself to a page a day or other aspirations like that. Instead I create the overall structure. What do I want to cover or illuminate using this book? It may take a day, a week or more, but I keep researching and keep refining. Then I attempt to fill out each subsection that I've created. With an overall structure in place, I find the process enjoyable, instead of taxing. I do have overall milestones in place. e.g. I want to done with the outline of the book in 30 days etc.

Whatever you do, don't quit reading yourself of what others are doing. They are a great source of what you should include that they haven't thought of. And above all, enjoy yourself. If you let stress get to you, you'll struggle. Too many times, I'm distracted by how to advertise what I've written, no one reads my blogs etc. You can't avoid that so spend 20 minutes taking baby steps on those distractions. e.g. email a reporter asking for a review, tweet your latest blog. It may not show results, but it satisfies your brain's uneasiness.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

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