Can Do Writing™: The Proven Ten-Step System for Fast and Effective Business Writing

Skillset: Composing the Draft

	When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
	--Talking Heads, "Psycho Killer"

There is no such thing as writers' block—only analysts' block. If you find yourself staring at the computer screen, you are either too tired to write, or you don't know what to say. You have not forgotten how to talk. Saying nothing is the mature response when you don't know what to say. (Ironically, most people who announce, I'm speechless, continue talking.)

If you don't know what to say, you need to work backward through analysis to find the problem. Perhaps your point is irrelevant. Perhaps you need to gather and select facts. Perhaps your purpose statement is wrong. Perhaps you lost sight of your audience and the information they need.

If your analysis is sound, you know what to say. If you know what to say, you can write your draft because language is instinct, hard-wired into your amazing brain. We started learning language as babies. A typical high school student has a working vocabulary between 36,000 and 60,000 words. Shakespeare, in all of his works, used 20,138 base words. When someone says, I'm at a loss for words, they really mean, I don't know what to say. They have plenty of words. The problem is that they did not do the analysis.

Use your language instinct. Don't let words become an impediment to writing your draft. Never have a dictionary open on your desk as you write your draft. Never use a thesaurus when you write your draft. Keep your language simple. ...