1. Pro writers share this golden advice: “Write a crummy draft.” If you aim for a crummy draft, you will short-circuit the inner critic. And the inner critic is probably the most common source of writer’s block. Here’s a secret: every finished document started as a crummy draft. The alternative is no draft at all.
2. Write a little bit (almost) every day. Yes, for many of us writers a span of at least two hours is ideal. But research suggests that writing even a few sentences a day yields a far greater output than waiting until you “have time.”
3. Watch out for what I call “Clean house, blank page” syndrome. Your inner procrastinator will have you sitting down to write and then scrubbing the barbecue or cleaning out your desk!
4. Start with the part of the paper that’s easiest to write (for example, in a research paper, it’s often the Methods section). And don’t pressure yourself to write the intro first. You’ll write a better intro if you do so after you’ve drafted the body.
5. Forget your critical professor. Write to someone who has asked your help. Imagine yourself responding to a patient’s question or mentoring a colleague. Helping mobilizes deep resources and evades crippling anxieties.
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