Is it new or does it suck?

A lot of people ask me for advice on how to get started writing.

The pattern I see is fairly repetitive:

They get inspired by something. They make big plans to write: maybe it’s a newsletter, maybe it’s a book, maybe it’s a script for a movie. Then they set up their routine.

Often the routine itself isn’t bad. They’ll block time off on their calendars once a day, or a few times a week. They’ll try to focus on the process and not on the results.