I’m not religious, not even a smidge. Maybe that’s why it freaks me out that writing requires some amount of faith.

Whatever you're writing right now, it isn’t perfect. But look past the flaws. Where does your writing glow?

Instead of expecting first drafts to become easier, let’s instead think about them in a different way. Here are five more metaphors for you!

To avoid being frustrated by crappy first drafts, I’ve spun the challenge into metaphors. They help me. I hope they help you.

I’ve done it before, and I’ll probably do it again. I start a story and think it will be easy...