A large source of my creative procrastination comes from this notion that my idea “just isn’t ready yet”, like it’s fruit ripening on a tree. But you know what? That’s bullshit.
Image via David Mulder.
I do creative writing in my free time — short stories, screenplays, TV pilots, poems, songs — but honestly, most of that writing is actually just me jotting down ideas of things I want to write in the future, “when I have time”. I tell myself that those ideas still need to get “fleshed out” that they’re “percolating”, but really I’m hoping that I’ll have some sort of epiphany that will make the hard work easier.
The truth is, that epiphany rarely comes. That idea you have — yes, that one, the thing you just thought of — is ready. It’s waiting for you to start working. It’s always been waiting for you. But what about you? Are you ready for this wonderful idea of yours? Maybe not, but you don’t need to be.
You don’t need to be a certain age, you don’t need to have certain credentials, you don’t need to have special connections and you don’t need someone to guide you along the way. Those things might help, but they don’t do the work for you. People say there’s a right time and place to dive into an idea, and there is: It’s here and now. There is no “ready,” there’s just starting.
Now, let me be clear. Your work, in the beginning, is going to suck. But it has to, at least at first. Stop being afraid of being bad. What’s important is that you stop waiting and start sucking. The sooner you can suck at developing your idea, the sooner you can get feedback, the sooner you can get better, and the sooner your idea can become something worth sharing.
In fact, stop reading this and go start. Now. We both have a lot to do and we’re running out of time.
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