I stare down the barrel of a big writing project. And I’m stuck.
I’m completely paralyzed by the blank screen. The cursor mocks me with every blink.
So I put it off until tomorrow.
And tomorrow.
And tomorrow.
And…
Boom. Deadline. It’s go time. I can’t stall any longer.
Now what do I do?
I do what a dead poet taught me.
Back in my younger days, when I was a creative director cranking out cookie-cutter commercial copy for a cluster of corporate radio stations, I found this short yet incredibly powerful quote from William Wordsworth:
“To begin, begin.”
To this day, it’s the single best piece of writing* advice I’ve ever received.
“To begin, begin.”
A blank page is the writer’s nemesis. The longer it stays blank, the harder it is to fill.
Don’t let the blank page win.
“To begin, begin.”
If you’re a writer facing writers block, just start writing.
- Even if the words aren’t exactly right.
- Even when the idea is lousy.
- Even if you don’t like what you’re writing.
- Even if you end up deleting/erasing everything you write.
Don’t worry about it being good. Good comes later.
“To begin, begin.”
Whatever’s stopping you isn’t going to go away until you do.
I’m off to write.
Thank you, Mr. Wordsworth.
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* By the way, this quote isn’t only about writing. But, yeah, you knew that…