The blank screen

You have an advertising assignment of some sort. If you're sitting with a blank computer screen and struggling about what to do, stop. There's a better way.

To start with, forget that daunting assignment for a while. Instead, gather facts that will interest and inform your audience. And hey, take it easy. This gathering process won't stress you at all. Rather than grappling for the right words, you can turn the radio on, muse about good things, and -- oh, yeah -- collect information.

Best of all, fact-finding is the right thing to do at this stage. Ultimately, delivering advantages to the audience will produce more than pulling everything out of your head...or somewhere else.

FYI: Gathering is seen as a low-level chore, but that's not true. Getting the nitty-gritty...

* Makes you knowledgeable, and this is essential to success

* Could give you the right strategy, appeal, idea -- everything