Just Do It (Then Revise It Later)

Writing is like any other skill: we learn by doing.

One of the reasons people don't like to write is a misplaced perfectionism. It's reasonable and appropriate to expect your writing to be coherent and professional. But it's not reasonable to expect everything to be professional the first time out.

My son plays Little League Baseball. Through his first two years, he was a timid hitter, afraid to swing the bat. In the batting cage, he had confidence and hit the ball well. In a game situation, he was like a deer in the headlights. I spoke to one of the coaches who told me not to worry. If he stuck with it, he'd eventually find his confidence and hit the ball. And he did.

It's the same thing with writing, except that you get another shot at it before you release what you've written. Instead of procrastinating, try writing it...even if the exercise is painful and the product is poor. Then sit on it for a few hours or even a day, look at it again, and revise it.

Revision and repetition are part of writing. JK Rowling didn't sit down and produce Harry Potter the first time out, and she didn't produce it without going back and changing a lot. It's the same for writing. As you write things, you'll get better at it, and the revisions will be less painful.

But the first step in writing something is figure out what you want to write, then write it. The second step is to let is sit a little and go back to revise it. The third step is to remember that it's a skill like any other. You wouldn't expect to solidly hit a baseball the first time you get in the batting cage. Neither should you expect to write well without having written much before.