Dear Mary: What’s the cure for writer’s block?

Q. Do you have a solution for writer’s block, Mary? A friend is the best company in the world, but I haven’t been able to speak to her for months. I know she reads her emails but they bounce back with the generic reply that she cannot respond until she has completed an urgent piece of writing work. I suspect she is blocked because this piece of writing is important to her on an emotional level but she is also the authority on the subject and only 5,000 words are required.

— W.M., London W3

A. In writing it is often much easier to correct something bad than to begin something good. Why not ask ChatGPT to write 5,000 words and email the result? The clunky style and inaccuracies within the robot-written take on the topic should flood her with competitive self-confidence as she makes her way swiftly to the keyboard.

Q. We have no off-street parking where we live in south London so my husband installed a CCTV camera to monitor our car, which we usually park just outside our house. However a retired neighbour opposite has cottoned on that this is a break-in free zone that he can take advantage of. He seems to spend much of the day sitting at his window doing the crossword, which means that as soon as one of us goes out, he immediately reparks his own car in our spot. How could we tackle him while still remaining on good terms?

— Name and address withheld

A. Take advantage of his likely technological illiteracy. Next time a friend comes over, stand outside theatrically waving them into the space as your husband drives out of it. Next go over and ask the neighbour would he mind keeping an eye on this car for a moment. Explain: ‘Our camera is car-sensitive and it only monitors our car.’