I can write about 1000 first-draft words in an hour.

How? Easy — I don’t think about it. I don’t think about it before I sit down to write, I don’t think about it while I’m writing, and I don’t think about what I’ve written after my one-hour session. I just do it.

Because if I did think about it, I’d be paralyzed.

You see, my internal editor is kind of a jerk. He’s never in a good mood when he looks over my work. He makes me change things while I’m in the middle of a writing session, he laughs at my word choices, and he threatens to kick my cat if I don’t do a bit of research right now. I’m lucky to get a sentence out while he’s looking over my shoulder.

So that’s why I lock him away when I write my first drafts. Oh, sure, he complained at first and threatened all sorts of dire consequences if I didn’t take his advice while I wrote, but he soon quieted down when he realized I was ignoring him.

And once I finish that first draft, I unlock the door and let my internal editor out with a smile. He gives me a surly look and then immediately starts polishing the novel/story/article, etc., I wrote without him.

Because that’s what internal editors are for. First drafts should not come from your internal editor — they should come from your heart. Your heart is where you dreamed up your story in the first place, drawing on your hopes, fears, joys, and sorrows to come up with characters you love and a plot that compels you.

So let yourself go in the first draft. Don’t think about it, just write.

Your internal editor will clean up the place later. He can’t help himself.