Same ol' lesson, every time

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, during the writing (and thinking about writing) of KillGirl. I tend to agonize and fret about how I’m writing badly, or I’m out of ideas for this or that part of the book. Then I go sit at my computer, read my pages, notes and chapters, and fret and agonize some more, maybe waiting for that old inspiration to strike.

But the problem is, nothing is really happening. I’m not writing, I’m thinking about writing. Or worse, thinking about what I haven’t even written yet. So, one day, I sat down and told myself, I’m going to write, no matter how much it sucks, no matter how much I hate it. Even if I know I’ll shitcan it, I’m going to write.

Guess what? I start to feel better, about the writing, about myself. And (if today is any proof), my writing, IMHO, gets better. There must be a rule out there by some writer: nothing EVER gets better by thinking about it. Writing only gets better when you write.

This might be a “duh” moment for some of you, but I have to keep remembering it, over and over again. And keep writing.