Why We Should Write More Garbage (hear me out)

What is that yucko, stucko, icko, BARF, straight up gross feeling that comes from even THINKING about sitting down to write?

Anxiety?

Perfectionism?

Not readiness?

Exhaustion?

D. All of the above?

Perhaps. All I know is that it SUCKS.

Actually I’ve also learned this: We should practice getting comfortable writing TRASH.

I’m talking run on sentences, words that don’t make sense, veering off the perfectly aligned yellow brick road you had in mind upon arriving to your keyboard. Why? Because that is the only way to get over that barf bag of a feeling. OK no more barf jokes. I swear that was the last (BARFFFFF) one.

When we allow ourselves the freedom to just go at it with no remorse, with all our oversized-that’s-not- gonna-fit-up-there-ma’am baggage, we allow ourselves to take one step closer towards our natural storytelling genius. After all, NO ONE gets it right the first pass. Not even the “good” writers. And if anyone says they do…please.

I see so many motivational mantras on the internet these days (yes I still say internet) like “have the confidence of a mediocre man” or “there are people out there less talented than you doing it” or my personal favorite “love yourself.” And she couldn’t help but scream…HOW??! WHAT DO I DO ABOUT IT?!

This is your official realistic mantra: Put garbage on the page and mold it into gorgeous, wonderfully slightly less stinky… garbage. Let’s get comfortable with absolute sh*t. Splatter paint all over your canvas in the form of random haikus, fragments, imperfect tenses and mas. Because I can almost promise you that after you splattering your last sploot, you will stand back and realize…hey it’s actually not that bad. Commence Cabernet pouring.

Getting to the page IS the hardest part. Don’t NOT give yourself credit for that. We are up against so much noise and sadness and anger and UGH these days that it is literally a miracle you are reading this post right now. But I’d like you to, for a second, imagine what’s possible once you conquer that feat.

Holy moly.

I can’t wait to see it.