100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019

Talk about what you’re writing
Nine ways to overcome writer’s block

When you’re looking for a job, you tell as many people as you can. There’s always the chance that one of your friends knows about a suitable job opening, or that someone knows a guy who knows a guy, etc. Same thing when you want to buy a house. You tell people what size house you’re looking for, how much you can spend, and what kind of neighbors you can’t stand. You do this because maybe somebody has heard about a house you’d want to buy. In effect, by telling people what you need, you plug into a huge computer loaded with all the relevant information your friends have accumulated.

When you have a story to write, plug into that computer. Talk about your story. Tell people your subject and your particular slant. Chances are your friend Karen read a book last week that had a chapter on your subject, your cousin Louie might send you an appropriate newspaper clipping, somebody else might remember a fitting quote from George Bernard Shaw, and your brother James might remember something significant that he heard when he was in prison.