“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.'” (Maya Angelou)

Last week I was looking for general writing-related stuff around the internet, and came across these wonderful quotes by famous writers on buzzfeed. This specific quote stood out to me because I’ve been following this very same advice for years and because it has helped me overcome writer’s block many times.

Writing can be difficult, especially once you’re stuck and writer’s block clouds your mind, but if you don’t try nothing is going to happen, either. Most of the time forcing it results in some pretty horrific pages, but it’ll also result in you getting back into the swing of things. And what are two or three horrific pages here and there? That’s what the edit is for. Most important of all, it’s advice that works! I know trying to force the words to come is difficult but the end result is worth it.

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For more weekly quotes, check out this page here.