When you’re in the zone, great writing flows seamlessly from your brain and out through your fingertips. But when you feel stuck, anything you type looks like rubbish. You see your bad writing, and your mind goes, “Something not right. We need to stop now and fix it.” The feeling is better known as writer’s block.
A writer’s block is the painful awareness that the thing you’re about to write won’t be good enough. And it’s true. It won’t. That’s why you need to get it out of the way as quick as you can.
Go on. Write a sentence so bad it makes you want to give up writing for good. Write a scene that has no right to work and fill it with second-rate dialogue. Show up with the best you’ve got for now. Even if it isn’t good enough.
Falling short of your expectations isn’t a reason to walk away. It shouldn’t make you hold back or self-censor. On the contrary, it’s a great reason to give it your worst.
Because what’s the worst thing that can happen? If it doesn’t work, you’ll edit it out when you’re done writing. But at least you won’t be stuck anymore. And not being stuck is ten times better than waiting for inspiration to come and visit you. Rubbish writing paves the way for creating something better, even if it isn’t better yet.
Not everything you write needs to be in your final draft. You can worry about what to pick when you get there. Remember, a lot of great writing comes down to getting rid of all the bad writing.
