Why You Can't Write (And What To Do Instead)

Most people sit down to write and stare at a blank screen.

And think:

• “I don't know what to say.”

• “Where do I even start.”

• “Maybe I should just let AI handle this.”

I used to do the same thing. I'd open a Google Doc, type a title, delete it, type another one, delete that too - and 45 minutes later I'd have maybe a paragraph written 5 times and deleted.

So, what nobody told me earlier was:

Writing is not a writing problem. It’s a thinking problem.

I hadn't done the work before the writing.

And that's where 80% of great content actually happens - before you type a single word.

Recently, long-form content is outperforming everything else right now.

Articles on X are doing amazing..

Newsletters are converting followers into actual buyers.

And here's the thing: AI can flood the short-form space.

You can tell ChatGPT to generate 100 posts and schedule them for a month. (people are doing that.)

But you can't tell AI to write 1,000 long-form pieces and expect them to be any good - because long-form requires the one thing AI genuinely struggles with: your actual perspective.

• Short-form content is “rented attention.”

• Long-form content is owned trust.

So the skill of writing - real writing, the kind that makes people subscribe and stay and eventually buy from you - that skill is only getting more valuable. Not less.

But you can't build that skill by staring at blank pages. You need a system.

The Reframe you need:

Writing is not a skill of putting words on a page.

Writing is a skill of curating ideas.

The person who reads more has more ideas.

More ideas means more depth, more novelty, more impact in their content.

Simple as that.

Think about it like this - “Dan Koe” calls it the Content Lego System.

Every piece of long-form content, whether it's a newsletter, an article, a YouTube script, a podcast, even a Space like the ones I host - it's all the same structure:

One topic idea. That's your title.

Three or more key points. Those are your section headlines.

Three to five filler ideas per key point. That's your body - the actual meat of the writing piece.

And you string them together as a narrative - problem to insight to solution.

That's it.

You're playing legos with ideas.

And the quality of your legos determines the quality of your content.

So when you sit down and can't write - you don't have a writing problem. You have an empty lego box. You haven't been collecting ideas.

You haven't been reading, questioning, noting things down.

So, the fix is to think more. Read more. Question more.

The writing will follow.

The system I use.

Five steps.

Step 1: Build an idea bank.

Every single day, I read for at least 60 minutes.

Non-negotiable. And when something hits - a concept, a stat, a story, a metaphor - I write it down in Notion/or apple notes with a one-line note on where it could fit in future content.

Now, I'm not reading for entertainment. I'm reading with a filter. Because what I've learned is - the best ideas for your content come from topics that are slightly related to your niche.

Not directly about it. Slightly related.

You want to write about productivity? Then the idea that changes your piece might come from a book about nutrition. Or a podcast about creativity. Or a conversation about sports training.

Those slightly-related connections are what create novelty - what make your content feel fresh even if the topic isn't new.

But you'll only notice those connections if you're consuming (the right stuff) every day. Idea flow is a lifestyle.

It's not something you turn on when you sit down to write.

Step 2: Pick your topic using the Three Rs.

Before you commit to writing about anything, score it on three scales.

Reach - is this topic broad enough to attract new people? "How to debug JavaScript in Django 4.2" has a reach problem. "Why the best programmers think differently" has massive reach.

Relevance - is this connected to what's happening right now? If everyone's talking about AI and you write about AI, you're riding a wave. That's not selling out. That's being relevant.

Resonance - can the reader actually do something with this? Will it change how they operate tomorrow? Because 90% of content people consume is interesting but useless. Resonance is the filter that separates content people remember from content they scroll past.

You can't always hit all three. But aim for at least two.

My priority - resonance and reach.

I'd rather write something people can apply that also attracts new readers than write about whatever's trending this week.

Step 3: Outline at the start of the week.

This is the part most people skip. And it's the part that matters most.

On Sunday - or whatever the start of your week is - pick your topic. Write just the topic and three blank sections underneath it. That's it. Don't fill them in yet.

Then go about your week.

What happens next is something your brain does automatically. It's called the reticular activating system - the same filter that makes you notice red cars everywhere after you buy a red car.

Once you've planted that outline in your head, your brain starts collecting ideas from everything you consume. A book you're reading, a video you watch, a conversation you overhear - you start seeing connections that fit your outline.

By the time you sit down to write at the end of the week, you're not starting from zero. You have a box full of legos.

The outline did 80% of the work before you typed anything.

Step 4: Fill sections using Idea Types.

When you're stuck on a specific section (and you will get stuck) the fix isn't to think harder. It's to cycle through idea types.

There are two categories.

First - starter ideas. These open a section or transition between points: big ideas, quotes, statistics, problems, personal experiences.

When you can't start a section, ask yourself - can I open with a bold statement? A quote? A stat? A problem the reader feels? Something that happened to me? Usually one of those clicks.

Second - explanatory ideas. These come after the opening: concepts, insights, metaphors, action steps, examples, what-how-why breakdowns. These add the depth.

Writer's block isn't a creativity problem. It's a categorization problem. You have an empty slot - these idea types tell you what shape of idea fills it.

Step 5: Run the writing process on each section.

Now - and only now - you write.

Choose your idea.

Ask 3-5 questions about it:

• what is this really about

• how does it work

• why does it matter.

Write without judgment. Just get the ideas out, don't worry about grammar or sounding smart.

Then become the reader - read it out loud, ask yourself if you'd keep reading.

Question and object - poke holes from the reader's perspective.

And finally, format for engagement.

That last step is last for a reason. Substance before polish. Always.

This may sound like a lot of work. And it is.

Good writing requires thinking, and thinking requires raw material, and raw material requires daily reading and idea collection.

But the people who invest in this process are building something AI cannot replace.

Because long-form content doesn't just grow your audience - it builds trust.

And trust is what makes people pay for your frameworks, your systems, your expertise.

You don't need 100,000 followers for that.

You need 100 people who trust your thinking enough to buy from you. And long-form content is how you earn that trust.

So this week - pick one topic.

Score it on the three Rs.

Write the topic and three blank sections.

Carry that outline with you for seven days.

Note down every idea that fits.

Then sit down and write something real - something that required you to think, something that only you could have written.

That's the system.

Talk soon.

-Vaibhav