This quick tip from Lifehacker is something I talk about in my classes all the time. Sometimes the hardest part about writing is just getting started. We want to begin perfectly. We want to make our points perfectly. We want our message to be received perfectly. Perfect writing is a great goal, but not when you are just beginning your assignment.
Instead, just start writing. Even if what emerges on the page is absolute garbage, it doesn’t matter. Write as much as you can, either off the top of your head, or from your notes/outline, or wherever your ideas come from. Type away! Good writers spend the majority of their time in the revising stage. But you’ll never get to that stage if you don’t have anything on the page in the first place. Reworking your ideas, structure, language, and tone will take a while. But that’s where good writing materializes. Write first, then rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite later.
There is a hint of adult language in this short post (I’m not sure why), but you’ll get the point. Put the words and ideas on the page, then worry about sharpening them up. Get writing!
Instead, just start writing. Even if what emerges on the page is absolute garbage, it doesn’t matter. Write as much as you can, either off the top of your head, or from your notes/outline, or wherever your ideas come from. Type away! Good writers spend the majority of their time in the revising stage. But you’ll never get to that stage if you don’t have anything on the page in the first place. Reworking your ideas, structure, language, and tone will take a while. But that’s where good writing materializes. Write first, then rewrite, rewrite, and rewrite later.
There is a hint of adult language in this short post (I’m not sure why), but you’ll get the point. Put the words and ideas on the page, then worry about sharpening them up. Get writing!