A copywriter and a new Mom walk into a bar.

They find out they have a lot in common.

When I first sit down to write an ad — a tagline, headline, concept, or script — I find the process weirdly similar to the one breastfeeding women go through after drinking alcohol.

Indulging mothers employ a technique called the Pump and Dump. The most prolific writers do too.

As a new(ish) father, these are the things I now think about. When my wife was breastfeeding and wanted to have a few more drinks than normal, she had to dump some of her breast milk while waiting for the alcohol to leave her bloodstream before feeding our son again.

As a writer, I can relate.

I too understand the importance of flushing my system before tending to my babies.

In my creative process, my default state is a few drinks in — blurry, unclear, stammering.

Like most (probably all) writers, I suffer from paralysis early in the ideating process. I’m held up by the fear that my ideas — known in advertising as babies — suck. And I’m right!

My early ideas are obvious, boring, and often cliché.

But I know that if I can be okay with sucking for a bit, I’ll eventually find my way to something semi-decent, maybe even good.

The best creative thinkers agree.

Tom Monahan, Copywriter / Creative Thinking Coach: “Write down every obvious solution to the problem you can think of. And do it quickly. There. You've got them out. Now all that is left are the fresh ideas.”

David Horridge, Creative Director: “Much like an archaeologist who expects nothing of the first several thousand shovelfuls of dirt, I expect nothing of my ideas as I excavate my head. I dig and create piles of dirt. Nothing else.”

Dan Nelken, Creative Director / Creative Trainer: “When you give yourself the freedom to suck, the chains of perfection fall off and you get to great a lot quicker (and healthier).”

When I’m after that big idea, I know that my first dozen, fifty, or even hundred ideas are going to suck. This isn’t a failure; it’s actually part of the process. I have to get the bad ones out before I can get to a good one.

If you want to strike gold, you’ve got to dig.

It’s important to unload those early ideas from your brain because those bad ideas aren’t just useless. They’re toxic. Pursuing obvious, boring, or cliché ideas leads to obvious, boring, or cliché work. Just like alcohol-fueled breast milk, they can poison your babies.

But if you release the bad ideas from your system, you’ll find yourself capable of producing healthy, wholesome milk… I mean ideas.

Good creative work doesn’t exist without a proper creative process. It’s the fuel that brings your ideas to life and nourishes their growth.

Because a writer’s default state is Indulgent Mother, the Pump and Dump is the healthiest way to get there.