Many writers view editing as a chore. Nick Thompson, CEO of The Atlantic, argues the opposite: editing is where the most creative work occurs. This is the phase where you confront core questions about audience, structure, and clarity, transforming raw ideas into a polished, impactful piece of communication.

Forcing a draft when tired is counterproductive. Instead, do all research and outlining, then go to sleep. Writing the full draft first thing in the morning leverages the brain's clarity after rest for a much higher quality output, much like starting a new context window with an LLM.

The process of articulating ideas in writing forces clarity and exposes flaws that remain hidden when they are just thoughts. It serves as a powerful filtering mechanism for bad ideas before they consume resources.

An investor can have pages of notes yet still lack clarity. The most critical step is synthesizing this raw data by writing a cohesive narrative. This act of writing forces critical thinking, connects disparate points, and elevates understanding in a way that passive consumption cannot.

The concept of "writer's block" is largely absent among writers whose livelihood depends on meeting deadlines. They treat writing as a job, pushing through any lack of inspiration to produce work—a mindset applicable to any creative profession.

Author Shannon Hale argues the worst writing advice is "only write what you know." She believes this is flawed because it prevents the author from discovering new ideas during the creative process. Writing should be an act of exploration, not a pedantic exercise of sharing pre-existing knowledge.

Grisham rejects the "write a messy first draft" advice. He meticulously outlines and revises daily to avoid writing into dead ends. This "basher" method saves time by ensuring the story is sound from the start, a lesson learned after cutting a year's worth of work from his first novel.

Instead of aiming for a perfect AI-generated first draft, use it as a tool to overcome writer's block. When feeling unmotivated, ask an AI to produce an initial version. The often-flawed or "terrible" output can provide the necessary energy and motivation for a human writer to jump in and improve it.

Shift away from the traditional model of drafting content yourself and asking AI for edits. Instead, leverage the AI's near-infinite output capacity to generate a wide range of initial ideas or drafts. This allows you to quickly identify patterns, discard unworkable concepts, and focus your energy on high-level refinement rather than initial creation.