A reminder from a writer who stared at a blank page for months

Putting off writing until you feel 'ready' can silently steal your best work (just set a timer and start scribbling anything).

3 comments

3 Comments

oliviabennett1mo ago

Yeah, the "set a timer and start scribbling" part is so true. I wasted a whole season waiting for the perfect idea. My best chapter last year came from a ten minute timer where I just described a dusty coffee shop. It was awful writing, but the character showed up in that mess. Now I swear by writing the bad version first.

baker.betty19d ago

That "awful writing" you mentioned is the whole problem. Sometimes a bad draft just teaches you how to write that scene badly. I've wasted more hours fixing forced scribbles than I ever did just thinking a quiet idea through.

xenarobinson1mo ago

Reading about your ten minute timer and the dusty coffee shop, I have to wonder if this is always the best way. It seems like a lot of pressure to force writing out like that. I've tried similar tricks, and sometimes they just lead to more frustration. Not every writer needs to scribble bad versions first; some ideas need time to grow. Waiting for the perfect idea isn't always wasted time; it can be part of the process. I guess I'm just not sure that rushing is better than letting things happen on their own.