There is nothing worse than being a “wannabe” writer. You want to write. Find joy in writing. But don’t write.

It doesn’t make sense, but then again, some things just don’t.

So, the question remains: What is the real problem?

Is it that you really don’t want to write?
Is it that you don’t have any talent?
Is it that you do not have the requisite skills?

While all of these things might be true, they most likely aren’t if you have the ambition to be a writer. More likely it is a problem of focus and of discipline.

Focus. In order to write anything, minimize distractions and come up with a rough idea of what you want to write and just begin. This is the only way, after all, you have to start writing. While it is true that you may have some false starts and some “wasted material”, if you over-think things and plan too much, you won’t start at all. If, on the other hand, you over-write some, the material might be used later, or you may find yourself on a new path you’d not considered.

Discipline. This can also be called “sit your butt down and don’t move” AND “do it every day”. The bottom line is that successful writers, people that actually finish things, write a lot. Through writing and finishing what you start you learn the craft. Sure, some things you write will be awful and you’d just as soon show them to people as you’d like to show nude photos of your grandmother, but so what? Don’t show those awful pieces of writing. Finish them anyway. Seriously, if it is a bad essay, a terrible short story, or a horrendous novel, finish writing it. Believe me, you will learn something from having pushed through.

Slow down. This is a case where steady progress wins the race. Sure, it is great to get into a groove and to have the words and scenes and passages just flying out like lightening bolts, but the truth is that this kind of writing is rare. That is why it is special. Learn to write regardless of how you feel. Learn to write even if you are not inspired. Learn to write when you don’t feel like writing. If you can do the preceding three things, then you are a writer.

Going slow is not a bad thing in sex and in writing. If you slow down what you are producing will likely be closer to what your vision was, and as an added benefit, it will have fewer typos. Personally, I hate to edit and I hate to re-read things I’ve finished. For me, it is far better to slow down and write something close to being complete than to rough out a story or prose and have to go back through it twenty times. I probably won’t, so in the end I will have a piece with glaring errors and lots of misspelled or improperly used words.

Thus, slowing down gets me to a finished product sooner. Maybe this is not true for you, but if you have a tough time re-visiting completed work slow down and try and get it as right as possible as you are drafting your work.