The Cure for Writer’s Block: Start With the Last Thing You Learned

Wondering what to write about? Someone once told me, “Start with the last thing you learned—then share that.”

They actually gave me this advice in reference to a talk I was terrified to give. I’d love to tell you I took that lesson to heart, thought of something great, and went on to give a perfectly delivered five-minute talk.

But since I’d rather not lie to you, I’ll just tell you what really happened: nothing. It sounded like helpful advice, but I didn’t do anything with it. I backed out of...