Do. Not. Wait.

I’ll admit it: it’s really difficult for me to start writing some mornings. But I know I have to persevere, even if I’m not chomping at the bit to get going most days.

So I have a whole set of tricks to prod myself with into 50 WPM. “Baby @ Home” is always a good one and “Empty bank account” never fails to act like a cattle prod to the stomach. “Caffeine addiction”, incidentally, is used daily.

But one of the most powerful is the “If you don’t write it…” rule. And, even if you’re *not* consciously using it, I’ll bet you’re familiar with it – all writers are.

The basic idea is: “If you don’t execute this ridiculously-cool idea, SOMEONE ELSE WILL. Soon.” Sound familiar? It always does to me.

Most recently, “Valentine’s Day” is causing an excess of acid reflux. For close to a decade I’ve been noodling with the idea of a feature set on the holiday – and after “Love Actually”, I figured it would be easy to pitch. “”Love Actually” set in L.A. over Valentine’s Day”. Imagine how many conflicts you can manufacture on this day! That shit sells itself.

But I let myself “work it over” for way way too long. Until someone else literally wrote that movie. And scored a huge hit.

Which isn’t to say that I could have sold my script had I actually finished it. But I’d have no regrets. At the very least, that script would have been an excellent sample right now. But instead, all I get is self-hate.

So start writing. Now. Pound out a super-shitty first draft so at least you can say you finished it. Believe me, a terrible finished version is better than a masterpiece that exists only in your mind.

And there’s nothing worse than telling someone about a situation like this and having to answer the following question: “So…why didn’t you write it?”

Ugh.