

I will write New York Times best seller in the first go!
-The writer who never finished a single book
Take a moment.
Recall your thoughts while quitting your last writing session.
“I am not good enough.”
“This idea is a waste of time.”
“I’ll never finish this.”
Do these thoughts sound familiar?
You are certainly not alone.
Well, roughly 7 out of 10 aspiring writers abandon a writing project at some point.
Does this mean you cannot be a writer?
Definitely NOT!
You are as capable as the legendary Ernest Hemingway.
Even he struggled to get started on his first drafts.
But instead of giving up, he came up with a solution.
“Eating the Frog”
Hold on - I didn’t mean literally boil and eat a frog.
It’s a productivity hack.
"Eating the frog" means starting with the most difficult part.
And everything else will be easier by comparison.
In this blog, you’ll learn how to apply this trick to fight your negative thoughts and get started on your first draft.
By the end, you’ll have expert tips to push your first draft out with greater ease. (And four editing hacks too!)
To take control of your writing goals, just dive in.
Writing on a blank page is hard and scary for one single reason - Uncertainty.
You have no guarantee of what you’ll produce on a blank page.
Even if you somehow start, you try to gain control. We inherently seek control in our often unpredictable world. (Thanks to evolutionary history!)
You obsess over every detail. You plan every aspect of writing.
But the more you cling to the idea of certainty, the more you find yourself struggling.
Here’s what you do while writing your first draft (simultaneously):
One on hand, you are discovering novel, compelling ideas. On the other hand, you are critically thinking about the structure, logic, and clarity of your writing.
In short, you are chasing perfection.
Perfection is impossible. You are bound to fail.
When you fail, you begin to doubt your abilities as a writer.
This self-doubt doesn’t let you write.
You struggle with thoughts like,
"I'm not good enough.😔”
"I'll never be able to write something great 😨”
"What's the point of even trying if I know I won't be able to make it perfect? 😖*”*
And what do you do to fight these thoughts?
You close your laptop and postpone your writing session. And keep avoiding it.
This endless delaying is procrastination!
Your procrastination is a way to cope with perfectionism & self-doubt.
By delaying your writing,
You may get temporary relief, but…
procrastination only makes things worse.
When you procrastinate, you feel guilty for not writing.
This, in turn, feeds your self-doubt — "See, I knew I wasn't good enough to do this."
It's a VICIOUS cycle!
Perfection —> Self-doubt —> Procrastination —> Self-doubt
This Vicious Cycle is what makes getting started writing so hard.
And that’s where the “Eating the Frog” mindset comes useful.
Write now, think later. Just put your ideas on paper and produce the first draft.
It doesn’t matter how good is your first draft.
What really matters is to HAVE the first draft.
Let’s understand why.
Writing the first draft is liberating.
Let me explain.
The pressure to create a perfect draft makes you restless. You feel caged while trying to control every minute detail of your writing.
Imagine shutting the analytical part of your brain for once.
Imagine giving yourself a free hand in writing. And letting your ideas just flow. Without worrying about their quality, grammar, spelling, or logic.
It feels like freedom.
You will be excited to explore new ideas when your inner editor is silent. You will tap into your true potential as a writer.
Moreover, as you get through your first draft, your inner writer is reborn. You are now not just wiser but more confident in your abilities.
Because you simply realize writing is practically possible for you.
Here Are 3 Major Benefits:
Get In The Flow:
Find Flaws:
📌 In the first draft of "Jurassic Park" (1993), the plot focused on creating dinosaurs through genetic engineering for military purposes, which created a major plot hole because it was unclear why the military would need dinosaurs. By changing the plot to a theme park that showcased cloned dinosaurs, writer Michael Crichton eliminated this plot hole and created a more believable and compelling story.
Build Your Blueprint:
And many more.
With the main writing points in place, you’ll have the blueprint of your project.
Refining this blueprint will eventually produce your desired draft.
The writing draft that you had procrastinated for in the first place.
By now, we have learned that
You have three obstacles in your way of starting the first draft:
All three combined are deadly and make you helpless.
The following tips will help you break out of this vicious cycle.
Let’s get started:
1. Set Realistic Goals 🎯
What’s less stressful?
Climbing the mountain in a day or climbing a 5 km stretch.
Obviously, a small 5 km stretch feels easily achievable.
You don’t mind getting started on the climbing.
Similarly, to get started on your writing,
avoid aiming for high aspirations that may feel overwhelming.
Deciding to write a novel in a month
or aiming for 10 hours a day,
or finishing a chapter in a week….is terrifying.
Start with a manageable goal — 30 minutes a day or 10 pages a week.
You’ll find these small goals attainable.
And when you don’t feel intimidated by the task at hand,
you start writing every day, building a habit.
(You fall in love with the act of writing).
Secondly, track your progress with the "Seinfeld Strategy.” It's pretty simple:
By making your progress visible, you feel motivated to work every day.
You would not want to break the chain of “X” marks.
This helps you develop a consistent writing habit.
2. Embrace imperfection 🧩
Perfection is an illusion; progress is real. — Annette Whitehead.
Reiterating again, the goal of writing your first draft is:
to convert your ideas into written form (tangible).
Before you judge your first draft, you need to get it written.
So, stop chasing perfection.
Give yourself permission to write a "bad" first draft.
A writing piece is easier to edit when it exists on paper; and not in your head..
Here are 3 hacks to write imperfectly:
3. Create an Outline 📝
A writing outline lists out the main ideas and sub-ideas of a subject.
A standard outline looks like this:
Your outline helps you in 3 ways:
📌 "I'm a big believer in the magic of outlines. If I have a solid outline, I can sit down and write even when I don't feel like it. And if I don't have an outline, I'm lost.” — Stephen King.
4. Celebrate small milestones 🏆
Writing a first draft is a marathon, not a sprint.
It takes time, effort, and consistency to complete.
You need to reward yourself along the way.
When you hit a certain word count or finish a weekly goal, pat yourself on the back.
It could be treating yourself to a fancy coffee or a Netflix binge session.
Here’s how it helps:
Essentially, by celebrating those small wins, you train yourselves to enjoy the act of writing.
Outcome — Your desire to complete the draft is stronger.
📌 "I celebrate each chapter of a book with a really good meal. It's something to look forward to, and a great way to acknowledge progress." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author of "Half of a Yellow Sun."
"Stopping Mid-Sentence" Technique
Every time you are about to end a writing session, intentionally stop writing in the middle of a sentence. Leave it incomplete.
By stopping mid-sentence, you create a starting point for your next session.
This helps you to avoid a blank page when you start writing again.
It builds momentum and avoids procrastination.
The "Stopping Mid-Sentence" technique is often attributed to the American writer Ernest Hemingway.
Editing your first draft is where real work begins.
While editing, your brain is doing only one job - Evaluation. (No tussle with the creativity).
You know where your writing stands…
You know where you want to take it…
And the bridge you need is Editing.
Here’s how editing benefits you:
So grab that red pen and experience the euphoria of the editing process!
Here are a few strategies for effective editing:
1 . Take a break before editing:
You get too attached to your first draft from working closely for a long time.
After all, it’s your baby.
So, you lose the objectivity to find faults in your piece.
It’s best to create psychological distance from your work.
Abandon the project and do something relaxing. Completely unrelated.
Trust me, you’ll come back with fresh eyes,
and you’ll be ready to notice inconsistencies. (But be honest!)
📌 Isaac Asimov found a major plot hole in his story "Nightfall" after taking a break from it, despite thinking it was complete. Upon revisiting the story, he realized that he had made an error in the timing of the planet's eclipse, which he corrected before republishing the story.
2. Read your work out loud:
Reading out loud activates two pathways in your brain - Visual & Auditory.
That reading silently doesn’t.
While reading out loud, you are forced to slow down. And you pay closer attention to each sentence.
And this makes easier to spot:
Awkward phrasing
Complex and unclear sentences
Difficult reading flow and pacing
Emotional impact
Technical mistakes - Grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc.
📌 "Reading out loud to yourself, or someone else, is a good test of whether the writing has achieved clarity and coherence. If you stumble over the words, the reader probably will too.” — Virginia Woolf.
3. Focus on one aspect at a time:
Editing can be overwhelming while trying to fix everything at once.
Take one area at a time.
You can prioritize different aspects depending on your work.
Here are some common aspects (in a standard priority):
Focusing one aspect at a time reduces the “Cognitive Load” on your brain.
For instance, focus on clarity before moving on to pacing or Grammar.
It makes the process more manageable & effective.
And you can pay each aspect the attention it deserves.
4. Collaborate with others:
Writing is a lonely business.
It's just you and your thoughts trying to create something out of nothing.
But with a writing partner or mentor, you've got someone in your corner.
They can bring out the best in your work. Here’s how:
📌 Toni Morrison, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, credited her editor, Robert Gottlieb, with helping her refine her work and improve her writing. She once said, "I know I am a better writer because of [Gottlieb's] work.”
If you are looking for a mentor, look no further.
At BBR English, you can get your personal mentor to accelerate your English speaking and writing skills.
In Live 1:1 sessions, your mentor helps you target your specific needs and goals. With their expertise and personalized feedback, you can take your writing to the next level.
Get more consistent and accountable in your writing goals.
Book our 1:1 counseling session with a mentor today!
Here are some key takeaways from our post:
💡Getting started on writing is hard because of the uncertainty involved.
💡Pursuing perfection leads to self-doubt and procrastination.
💡Avoid procrastination with realistic goals and progress tracking (Seinfeld Strategy).
💡Embrace imperfection by writing freely, in short bursts, or in longhand.
💡Create a positive feedback loop by celebrating small milestones.
💡Editing is where the real work begins: Focus on one aspect at a time.
💡Collaborating with experts brings out the best in you. (Get a personal mentor)
We would like to hear from you.
What’s your biggest struggle while writing anything in general?
Comment with your answers!
Team BBR English