How To Get Over Writer’s Block : Transform Your Writing and Unlock Creativity With Shaan Puri

Writers know the feeling: You sit down at your desk, ready to create, but the words won’t flow. Your mind wanders.

The cursor blinks mockingly on the blank page. In a revealing conversation between Shaan Puri and David Perell, they rip apart these common creative blocks and share battle-tested strategies to demolish them. Let’s dive into their practical wisdom for transforming your creative process.

Master the Three Pillars of State Change

When you hit a wall with your writing, don’t just sit there hoping inspiration strikes.
Puri reveals three powerful levers you can pull to radically shift your state:

Shock Your System with Physical Movement
- Sprint until your heart pounds
- Drop and bang out pushups
- Dance like nobody’s watching
- Plunge your face into cold water
- Knock out 20 explosive air squats

“It’s the fastest way to change how you feel, is a radical change in your physiology. It’s the first thing.”

Puri shares a fascinating example from professional poker:

“I have a friend who’s a professional poker player… he goes in the parking lot and he does wind sprints.

He’s not doing it to be a better runner, he’s not doing it to increase his V02 max. He’s doing it because he wants to make better decisions when he gets back to the table.”

This champion player recognizes that in the “notoriously degenerate” casino environment—with its stale air, artificial lighting, and smoke-filled rooms—maintaining peak mental performance demands radical action.

Those parking lot sprints give him a competitive edge that’s helped him claim multiple European poker championships.

Weaponize Your Focus
- Picture your attention as a laser beam
- Point it deliberately at one target
- Crush single tasks instead of juggling many
- Direct focus toward opportunities, not obstacles

“I have this laser beam of focus. I don’t know if this is true, but it’s what I’ve convinced myself, which is, if I just turn my attention to this, I will crush this. This will be amazing. If I put 100% of my focus on this podcast right now, oh, this podcast didn’t stand a chance.”

Rewrite Your Story
- Replace limiting narratives with empowering ones
- Transform obligations into opportunities
- Connect your work to meaningful impact

Puri illustrates this with a powerful contrast:

“If I go into this podcast right now, and my story is I’m doing a favor to David, I’m just doing this, oh man, I had to drive an hour to come here…

Obviously I’m not going to perform very well.
Whereas if my story was, there’s going to be someone who listen, one person, who’s going to hear one thing that I say, one story, and they’re going to be like, ‘Wow, I can’t unhear that. That was amazing.'”

Demolish Writer’s Block: The Curiosity Cure

During the conversation, Perell shares a breakthrough moment working with his coach.
When stuck in a writing slump, feeling uninspired and disappointed with his work, his coach asked a simple but powerful question:
“What did you do back then that you don’t do now?”

The answer revolutionized his approach:

Hunt for fascinating ideas
Wrestle with them personally
Share your discoveries with others

“I’d find an idea that was interesting, I would try to figure out that idea for myself.

And then I’d figure it out for myself and I’d say, ‘Well, then I got to share this with other people.’ And I’d just do that over and over and over again, and I never stopped.”

Harness the Dual Power of Excitement

Drawing from Paul Graham’s essential essay “Great Work,” Puri and Perell explore how excitement acts as both fuel and compass:

The Engine: Drives you forward with unstoppable momentum
The Rudder: Steers you toward your most promising opportunities

“If you don’t know which path to choose, just choose the one that’s most exciting. Just keep following that and that will lead you to the right place.”

Puri warns against abandoning this proven formula:

“Every time I’ve drifted away from that… I start with that, good things happen. And then I’m like, ‘Oh, now ambition is the driver.’

Or doing something that sounds cool or important, or money is the driver. And then all the bad things happen.”

Unite the Power of Analysis and Flow

Many writers struggle to balance analytical thinking with creative flow. Puri shatters this false dichotomy:

Embrace Productive Paradoxes

Great entrepreneurs combine visionary thinking with obsessive detail (think Steve Jobs scrutinizing iPhone box designs)
Top performers master both creative and analytical modes
Success demands flexibility to shift between different mindsets

“The most valuable traits you can have sound like opposites if you pair them together… I consider myself a creative person.
I’m also highly analytical with data. Sounds like opposites.”

Deploy the Right Mental Tool

Combat emotional blocks with emotional solutions
Tackle logical problems with logical analysis
Use your brain as a tool, not your master
Switch gears based on the challenge at hand

Craft Your Authentic Voice

Puri reveals how The Boron Letters transformed his writing approach:

Core Principles:

Write to one specific person
Build intimate connection with readers
Predict and address their thoughts
Pull back the curtain on your process

“I’m going to write like that. I’m going to write like I’m writing to one person… This is my kid or it’s my little cousin, or it’s me when I was younger… ‘I know what you’re thinking, blah, blah, blah, but mamma mia, you’re wrong.'”

The Zoom Technique: Escape Creative Quicksand

When stuck, Puri recommends this powerful perspective shift:

Trapped in Details? Zoom Out:

Question your fundamental goals
Imagine having unlimited superpowers
Study others who’ve solved similar problems
Hunt for universal principles

Lost in Abstract Ideas? Zoom In:

Examine your last 48 hours of insights
Pick one concrete example
Focus on your most recent interesting conversation
Start with what’s right in front of you

Revolutionary Writing Tactics

Ditch the Keyboard for First Drafts
- Walk and talk your ideas into existence
- Let voice transcription capture your natural flow
- Save typing for refined editing
- Embrace looking slightly crazy while walking and talking
Transform Your Physical State
- Use movement to break mental gridlock
- Harness music to shift your energy
- Change your environment to change your mind
Read Your Readers’ Minds
- Voice their unspoken doubts
- Address skepticism head-on
- Share genuine reactions and concerns

Master the Growth Loop

The conversation reveals a powerful learning framework:

Study masters in your field
Dissect their successful methods
Extract universal principles
Apply these insights to your work
Develop your unique style

“Imitate and then innovate.”

The Power of Fundamentals: How To Get Over Writer’s Block & Write Better

Stop chasing the latest writing hacks. Instead, master these timeless principles:

Move your body to move your mind
Direct your focus like a laser
Tell yourself empowering stories
Follow your genuine curiosity
Let excitement guide you
Embrace seemingly opposite skills
Write to one person with warmth
Shift perspective when stuck

The most powerful writing techniques aren’t revolutionary—they’re fundamental. Your job isn’t to discover new principles but to actually implement the ones you already know.
Return to these basics again and again, finding fresh ways to bring them to life in your work.

Great writing flows from a combination of physical state, mental focus, and personal narrative.
Master these elements, and you’ll transform not just your writing, but your entire creative process.

(Source: “How I Write” podcast with David Perell featuring Shaan Puri)