Write Anyway by Patty Blount

Just write. 

Best advice I ever got was to just write. It's also the hardest thing to do. Just write without fear of what people will think about it? What the reviewers will say? How many copies will sell and whether it will be a best-seller or get adapted into a hit movie? What will YOU say, when you read it back?

Just write. 

Write what frightens you. 

Write what tickles you, entertains you.

Write what makes you sigh. 

Write what makes you laugh through your tears. 

I've been struggling with my writing lately. The words don't come and when they do come, they're flat and lifeless, staring up at me from the screen, begging for mercy, and I have to find ways to keep writing anyway. 

I'm working on a young adult suspense novel in which my main character is a psychic. Throughout this story, he has to learn to lower his mental shields so that he can tap into his psychic ability without pain. 

It suddenly struck me that writing has to be like this, too. I have to learn ways to lower my mental shields and tap into the story's power. It doesn't matter if the words suck, the characters are flat, or the plot is dull. 

What matters is the act. Why do I say this? Because those fears of what will everyone think are crippling. Can I still be a writer if I am, in fact, NOT WRITING? 

So, the act of writing, rewriting, rereading and revising some more is cathartic. Even if nobody but me ever sees those words, I am still writing. 

I am thisclose to finishing my novel and plan to self-publish it. How will I know when it's done? 

When the words that I wrote transport me into the story. 

That's worth the risk of people hating it.