For writers, the blank page can sometimes feel more intimidating than the toughest deadline. Ideas can flow for months and then suddenly disappear, leaving even experienced storytellers wondering where their next thought will come from. Writer, producer and lyricist Vaibhav Modi has a rather simple philosophy for those moments — step away from the desk and return to life. Speaking about creative blocks and the long stretches when ideas refuse to arrive, Modi explained that conversations, experiences and people can often become the fuel that eventually finds its way onto the page.
According to Modi, there are three kinds of people who can make a writer’s mind more fertile: those you love deeply, those you respect and constantly learn from, and those you know absolutely nothing about. “Conversing with these three types of people makes a writer's mind fertile; it sparks creativity,” he explained. For him, these interactions can provide the initial thread a writer needs to begin thinking again. A conversation can introduce a new emotion, experience or belief, while someone we admire can sometimes challenge or deepen our own understanding of the world.
Modi believes there is another, more personal dimension to writing that becomes particularly important during a creative block. Writers often think of writing as a way to process emotions, but sometimes the emotions are so heavy that simply sitting down and trying to write does not immediately provide relief. That struggle itself, however, can become part of the creative process. “Usually, we look to writing as an outlet for our emotions. But there are times when writing doesn't lighten the load, or something weighs so heavily on the mind that we search for a way to let it out—to express it. For me, writing is that very medium,” he said.
That idea of writing as an emotional release connects closely with Modi’s larger understanding of the creative process. He acknowledges that there can be an internal struggle before an emotion or thought finally takes shape in words. Sometimes, the writer knows something is there but cannot quite figure out how to describe it. The need to articulate that feeling can linger until it eventually finds its way onto the page. For Modi, the process is less about forcing inspiration and more about allowing life to provide the material from which inspiration can emerge.
Perhaps his most memorable advice is directed at aspiring writers who ask him what it takes to keep creating. Modi’s answer is not about waiting for inspiration or spending endless hours staring at a blank screen. Instead, he encourages writers to collect experiences. “Keep gathering the ‘noise’ of the world in your mind,” he advises. “Go out, meet people. Understand life, live it, endure it—whatever you do, if you keep collecting that internal noise, then when you sit down to write, it will find a single outlet, and something truly good will inevitably emerge on the page.” It is a philosophy built on observation — the belief that stories do not always begin with an idea, but often with something a person has seen, felt, heard or lived through.
That approach is particularly relevant to Modi’s own career as an award-winning writer, producer and lyricist. He is the founder and director of Victor Tango Entertainment and is known for creating scripted and unscripted content across television and OTT. He served as creator, writer and producer on the spy thriller Mukhbir: The Story of a Spy, while his writing credits also include projects such as The Legend of Drona, 99 and Chal Chala Chal. He has also worked as a lyricist with artists including Papon and Sunidhi Chauhan. Through his words, Modi offers a reminder that the creative life is not always about finding ideas — sometimes it is about living enough life to have something worth writing about.