I can relate to it taking several paragraphs to get into a rhythm. I like to free-write from a quote. It's the only kind of prompt that works for me. Writing responses to Medium articles is my favourite type of "free-writing".

I keep two lists in my iPad Zoho Notes for Medium articles. One is titles I see and don't have time to read at the moment (when I'm in line at the grocery store). The other is those I've read and want to respond to. When I first sit to write, it's how I like to warm up to writing. I just take the one at the top, re-read the article and start typing. :) Sometimes I do it after I've submitted an article and don't feel like starting anything new.

I publish once a week and have no ambition beyond that. I'm NOT your target audience. :) I agree with the advice you give them, especially that you have to do what you don't feel like doing if you want to reach your goal. I believe in consistency. I have just over 200 followers since I started in September 2020. I'm grateful and amazed for every single one of them. No whining for me!

During lockdown, it's hard to get into a flow state because I'm frequently interrupted. I can't WAIT for coffee shops to re-open! There's noise, but no one's talking to ME.

I write whatever interests me (lately it's been chess and those articles have done really well) so I don't have an audience with clearly defined desires. I lost two followers this week and I'm OK with that. Those who follow are the ones who are meant to. Maybe those who left didn't like my last article or maybe they're clearing out their following list and starting over.

I'm not looking for perfection and I'm definitely NOT afraid to hit the Publish button. I'm not lacking in ideas. There's something else going on, some other resistance. Maybe it's not enough solitude and opportunity for interior silence. Maybe it's information overload. I'll figure it out and I'm at peace with how long that takes.