No backspace. Ignore grammar. Write ahead.

This writing method can turn a hopeless perfectionist into an article-shooting machine.

I stumbled upon it by accident one day when I struggled to start an article. I kept rewriting the first section for hours. I was stuck, unable to find the right words. Or as I call it: Thursday.

This is the point where I would usually give up

"I don't know enough about this topic."

"Who am I to lecture others about this anyway?"

"Maybe writing isn't for me after all."

But on this day, my frustration took over: "Fuck this. I'm just going to write as fast as I can and see what happens."

So I did. And what happened blew my socks off.

Why is it so hard to start writing?

We are afraid that what we write is going to suck. It's painful to look at bad writing, especially if it's you who made it.

So we try to avoid writing badly. We want to get it perfect the first time.

And, if you're anything like me, you don't even need other humans for criticism. You've got that covered. You are your worst critic.

So how did I overcome self-doubt, overthinking, and perfectionism in writing?

Well, I didn't. At least not entirely.

But writing faster somehow removed the obstacles that normally block me from getting my ideas onto the page. Aiming for speed freed my brain from agonizing about perfection.

The goal of your first draft is to get ideas out, and thinking too much prevents you from doing that. But when you write fast enough, there is no time for thinking. There is no time to worry about mistakes. This is why you can overcome what is blocking you by writing faster.