One Sentence at a Time
If there’s one piece of writing advice I can give to you and others, it’s the title above. Let’s face it, many of us writers have trouble getting past that blank piece of paper or screen. Even we if have something written, often we don’t write anything else, and progress stalls.
So whenever you’re having trouble writing something, just write one sentence at a time. If you can keep up the momentum and write more, then that’s great. If not, just write another sentence the next day.
Let’s assume you’re writing a novel, 80,000 words and the average sentence is about 17.5 words. If you only write one sentence a day it will take you about 12.5 years to complete a draft. Yes, that’s a long time, but think of how many writers you know that have waited that long and still haven’t published anything.
The lesson: Compounding works. One sentence a day produces progress. It may take a long time, but you’re doing better than someone who keeps hesitating and letting perfectionism overwhelm them.