The single most important thing for me has been - get the first
draft written! You can edit later but you can only write NOW.
Don't go back because you want a smoother transition from one paragraph
to the next, the correct spelling, the right punctuation, or the
perfect word. Don't stop and polish at each step of the way, or you may
wind up with a perfect paragraph and nothing to come after it.
Get the first draft written any way it comes out. Then in the rewrite,
when you have something to work from, you can worry about doing your
best work.
I figured this out for myself, and when I read Anne Lamott's bird by
bird, I was gratified to see that it worked for her, too. I'll
paraphrase her advice: "Write a lousy first draft."
-Ruby Jung
For a bit about Ruby, see About
Ruby Jung.