Beyond the Blank Page - What's Really Stopping You?

We've all been there. I know I have. The page is blank. The cursor is blinking. And suddenly your brain has produced an impressive list of reasons why today is absolutely not the day to write. 

• You're tired. 
• You don't know where to start. 
• The idea isn't good enough
• Someone else has already written it. 
• You should probably tidy the kitchen first (I know I am desperately trying to procrastinate when cleaning is the option I choose!)

And sometimes, of course, those things are true. But often there's something else going on. The blank page can trigger an extraordinary amount of mental noise. We put pressure on ourselves to produce something good, meaningful, and original. Before we've written a single sentence, we're already judging the work.

That's where perfectionism can become particularly unhelpful. If the only acceptable outcome is a brilliant piece of writing, starting becomes a frightening prospect. So what if we changed the expectation? I am a real fan of “what ifs” – they are great writing prompts for one thing, but that’s for another time.

The first sentence doesn't have to be brilliant. It doesn't even have to stay. The first paragraph doesn't need to solve the story. The first draft doesn't need to impress anyone – no one will see it but you. You just need to have something written down, no matter what, no matter how big or small, no matter how rubbish!

And when that little voice appears that tells you you can't do it, just ignore it. Just write one imperfect sentence. One piece of nonsense. The answer to one questions. Then write another. See where that takes you. Whatever you write in that first instance will be enough. You can’t edit a blank page. But you can edit something you think is bad into something good.

Tell me: what is the most common thought that gets in your way when you sit down to write? And what is your way to silence it? Let me know in the comments. I would love to hear your response.