There is so much information out there that you do not know what to read, what to trust, or what to write about.
It feels like being at a buffet where the food stalls go on for miles.
You see info on diet, exercise, sleep, diabetes, heart disease, immunity, mental health, gut health and every part of the human body.
So you start to wonder:
“Is there anything left to write about?”
“Will I ever be noticed in this maze of health information?”
I had plenty of ideas. But could I write?
I have always loved teaching, so writing felt like a way to do that. I always dreamt of writing a book. I never actually did it. Many people told me to start posting. So a year ago I decided to give it a try. At first I had plenty of ideas and topics to use. Slowly I realized that writing was not easy for me. I had the ideas. That was not the issue. I could write a paragraph or two. Writing a full 400 or 500-word article was much harder.
Then AI came along
Luckily, AI came to my rescue. I would give it an idea. Suddenly I had a structure, an introduction, headings, and a conclusion. I was able to make article after article. Posting did not feel scary anymore.
Then I had to write without it
Then a year later I started a content writing internship. That was when things got interesting. Our instructor told us to write without using AI.
Suddenly I had to face a question I had been hiding from. “Could I actually write?”
How do you grow an idea? How do you organize it? How do you make it flow? How do you move from one paragraph to the next? How do you stop repeating yourself? How do you take a thought and make it deep enough to read? How do you finish?
It felt very scary. I began to wonder whether healthcare content writing is saturated.
I had to find my own way
Before I worried about if there was anything left to say I had to learn how to get the thoughts in my head onto the paper.
Slowly, I found ways to do it.
Here are four things that helped me.
1. I visualized myself finishing the article.
Instead of staring at a blank page I started picturing myself finishing the article. I imagined the idea taking shape. I imagined the paragraphs coming together. Most of all I imagined reaching the end.
2. I changed what I told myself
I started telling myself that I could become a content writer. That might sound simple. Bad thoughts can really mess with you. If I sat down thinking “I cannot do this. I am not a writer. Everyone is better than me” my brain would just look for reasons why I was right.
So I changed how I talked to myself. I might not have been the content writer yet. I could get better. I had things worth saying.
3. I learned to stop fighting the page
Sometimes my brain just felt stuck. When that happened I learned that pushing harder did not help. Sometimes I took a nap. Sometimes I just sat at my laptop. Stayed still. I tried to let go of the stress. Instead of forcing the words, I gave my mind some space.
Then the ideas came flooding.
4. I learned to use AI
Yes I still use AI, but in a new way.
I give it the idea. I bring the experience. I state my views and my questions. Then AI helps me organize and express what is already in my mind. It helps me build a framework. It helps me find headings. It helps me find a conclusion when I know what I want to say but do not know how to end it.
AI was most helpful when I did not ask it to replace my thoughts but to work with it.
Changing my mindset and using AI this way helped me get my thoughts onto the page.
So, is there anything left to say?
The answer is both yes and no. Yes, there is a ton of healthcare content out there. No, I do not think we have said everything yet.
There might be a few topics that no one has touched. There are still new ways to look at things. Your way of looking at things.
Your questions. Your own stories. The ways you connect two ideas that no one else has connected yet.
So maybe the answer is not to look for something that has never been written. Why not find something that has never been “said in your way” and write it?
Follow the thought that keeps coming to you. Look into the question that you cannot stop thinking about.
Trust your gut. The road might be crowded. There is still room to walk a different path. Sometimes that is how a new path starts.
Author:
Dr. Francisco Noronha
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