The reason you cannot write is because somewhere along the way you stopped being content with writing one sentence, aligning one phrase or conveying one concept.
At some point you decided you were writing an article, a short story or a book. Maybe you thought this could be your Magnum Opus, some Booker Prize winner, the memoir of your childhood.
Alas, it is never the right time to write a Booker Prize winner. No coffee is just strong enough for that magnum opus. No afternoon can contain the writing of your first loss.
So, you never start.
But, you’re misunderstanding the process.
Nobody ever sat down and wrote a Magnum Opus. They didn’t even write a whole story or article. All any writer ever did was write one word, one idea, one phrase. Then, they did it again.
If they had the audacity to keep going, they found themselves finishing books and telling stories. And if they were really lucky and shamelessly consistent, they won prizes and defined genres.
I guess what I’m saying is that it always looks unfinished from where you’re sitting. From your cursed vantage point above the keyboard. You could be writing the story of the millennia—it would look just the same. White space eaten away by your ugly, misshapen words.
But now you know. That’s what we all see. That’s where we all started.
We all started by writing one sentence.
Now, it’s your turn.