Words on a page

Last week, I was up against a deadline for an article. It was a topic that I’m enthusiastic about, had done my research on, and had thoroughly outlined. The words were in my head, but they wouldn’t move from my brain to my fingertips. And with the deadline looming my stress level was rising. This doesn't happen to me very often, and that added to the stress.

I talked to my wife (a good writer in her own right) and she gave me the advice that I used to give her: just sit down and start writing, and worry about cleaning the article up later. That’s what it did, and it worked. While the article wasn’t the best piece that I’d ever written or as good as I wanted it to be, it still turned out quite well.

The lesson (re-)learned here? When stuck, just write. What appears on the page or on the screen might not be up to your usual standards, but that’s what editing is for. Sure, you might come away with something that isn’t as good as you hoped it would be. On the other hand, you’ll have finished your assignment and met your deadline. Keeping editors and clients happy is often more important than producing your finest piece of work to date.

I’m not suggesting that you hand in material that is sub par. Given the constraints, you might just have to settle for something that’s as good as you can make it.