Writing is hard because we have a lofty idea of what writing is. We imagine people--fancy people--with degrees and credentials and quills and thick notebooks into which they spill their flawless thoughts from their flawless brains, sitting in flawless libraries filled top to bottom with other flawless books by other flawless authors. 

Yeah, no. That’s not how it works. 

The best writing begins with mess.

The messier and wilder you are, the better. The best thing we can do is throw ourselves in, as quickly as possible, and write a lot of mess, as fast as we can.

Okay, yeah, but how? 

If you’re ready to make the leap, here’s five ways to unstuck your writing.