Writing is usually framed as an output to share ideas, build an audience, maybe advance your career. But there’s a more fundamental reason to write: your brain encodes information better when you produce it yourself.
In neuroscience, this is called the Generation Effect. A meta-analysis of 86 studies involving over 17,000 participants found that people remember material substantially better – roughly a 40% boost – when they produce it themselves than when they simply read it.
That’s because producing content activates a broad network in your brain spanning the prefrontal cortex and posterior regions involved in semantic processing and memory binding, while these regions stay relatively quiet when you’re just reading.
I discovered the Generation Effect during my neuroscience studies. As a native French speaker who wanted to experiment with writing in English, it seemed like a great way to deepen my understanding of what I was learning while practicing a new skill.
The research convinced me writing would help, but I also knew that knowing something is useful doesn’t make you do it. I needed a commitment device.
So I made a simple pact: write 100 articles in 100 workdays. Notice there were no rules about where or when. So some mornings I wrote at my desk, other times I was furiously typing at an airport gate before boarding. The length and quality of the articles varied, but I kept showing up, and I never once experienced writer’s block.
Writer’s block usually comes from two sources: not having ideas ready, and making the stakes too high. My pact dealt with both at once. I was writing short pieces about topics I had already collected, so I never sat down wondering what to say. And because I had committed to 100 articles, no single article carried much pressure.
If you want to experiment with writing, here are three practices I find immensely helpful. Please note these are based on my experience as a writer but could technically work to avoid any kind of creative block, not just writer’s block.
- Collect ideas continuously. Capture thoughts as they come in a note app, a voice memo, wherever is easiest for you. When you sit down to write, you’re choosing from a list instead of ideas you’re curious to explore instead of starting from scratch.
- Make a writing pact. Writing skills and confidence develop through repetition, not through waiting until you feel ready. So pick a realistic schedule (weekly, biweekly) and commit to it publicly (tell a friend, announce it in a group chat or social media).
- Lower the bar. Write something short. Write something rough. Write something quickly during your commute. What you want is to keep on experimenting long enough to learn what works for you and what doesn’t.
In my case, no single piece changed everything, but together they slowly became a body of work which brought new conversations and opportunities. Beyond those external signals of success, the most interesting compounding was internal. My thinking got clearer. I feel more creative. I trust that I can untangle any idea through writing.
Of course, writing is still hard sometimes! But I keep coming back because it’s how I get to know myself, my work, and the world better. That alone would be enough even if nobody read a word.
Tiny Experiment of the Week
Ready to put these ideas into practice? Try this week’s tiny experiment to let go of the myth of writer’s block.
I will [write 100 words every day] for [10 days].
Don’t try to make it perfect. Just focus on building the practice. Even a rough paragraph or a bullet-point list of questions you’re currently pondering counts. Want to dig deeper? Get your copy of Tiny Experiments.