On copywriting when it’s easy

I like this quote from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin… 

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It’s about how he wrote The Social Network:

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“I spent a lot of time pacing around, climbing the walls, trying to figure out how to start. And once I knew what I wanted to do and I kind of had a beat on the scene, I then wrote it in roughly the amount of time it takes to type it.

“You know you don’t know what you’re doing if the lines are coming out like honey dripping from a jar — a line here, then you gotta wait half an hour for the next line... 

STOP. Put it down. You don’t know what you’re doing yet.”

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I like it because it rejects the typical “tortured writer” narrative:

“Don’t stop.”
“Embrace the block.”
“Keep your ass in your chair until it’s done!”

It’s not necessarily the wrong way… 

But it’s not how Aaron Sorkin writes. 

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Sorkin writes when it’s easy. 

And apparently the more research he does, the easier it gets. 

Research is key to all writing — including copywriting — because knowledge breeds opportunities to make connections, the core act behind creativity. 

So if you’re struggling to make those connections, maybe it means you’re just not ready to?

Maybe it means you should stop, step away, and give yourself more time to read the brief, ask questions, and process?

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