Love the story you have to tell

I've wanted to be a published author ever since I was a kid. I remember when I first began reading The Wheel of Time, I was so enthralled-- I wanted to do that myself. I was too young to read such a weighty novel, too young to try to write one. But I didn't care about either of those thoughts; I just started writing. I had a list of possible names, but nothing more. It was a creativity and a freedom that I've never since felt, not in any of my unpublished works. The blank page set my imagination racing, and my fingers laced the keys to keep up; writing my first novel is how I learned to type. I had to fill those pages somehow.

But why is it different now? Why is the blank page more like a set of steel bars than a pair of powerful wings? Why do I spend more time rereading my last paragraph than creating the next one? Why is my backspace key more worn than the space bar?

My answer: I'm not writing for myself right now. I'm writing, looking to have it read, to have it published. I need to get back to the simplistic love of the story I have to tell.

Just tell your story at first. Fix it up for readers and editors and publishers later. The first draft is for you. And you alone.