Most writers will tell you that the most difficult part of writing is the beginning part, where you stare at a blank piece of paper or Word document. Writing is a love-hate relationship for most writers, but it is always gratifying to see the finished work. Some writers, though, cannot help but procrastinate.

You are prolonging your agony if you put off your writing. The fear of failure has something to do with it. At some point, you have to do the work. Procrastination insulates you from affirming your fear should you try. But then, if you don’t do the work, it is in its own way an affirmation that you are failing.

Understand that there is no such thing as perfect writing. We live in a world that is full of flaws. Our imperfections as human beings are what make our writing so fascinating.

Just do the task. It is the first step to cultivating discipline. Without the commitment to stick to it, nothing will ever get done, and that makes you unproductive. By the time you have composed a few sentences, you motivate yourself to keep going. Those who have developed the habit of writing daily have honed the discipline to focus and go beyond their superficial concerns. Discipline helps develop objectivity. Your writing then goes beyond ego. Discipline serves as your road map to a creative journey.

Discipline enables you to organize what is important and what is trivial. The lucidity of your thinking helps you to present your facts and details in a coherent fashion. Discipline helps to overcome writer’s block.

Using an outline as a guide lets you know in advance what must go into each paragraph that will make up your content. Similarly, your research process becomes smoother, as you know what facts and figures you need to look up that will be essential for your piece.

Some writers do not bother with outlines. They claim that they do a considerable amount of mentally organizing their ideas so that by then, they are ready to sit down and write. Stick to whatever works for you. The discipline follows and will help you maintain focus.

Shun the idea that all the great things have already been written. Humans are fascinating creatures endowed with brilliance and creativity. If you go out there and give yourself the chance to talk to people from all walks of life, you will discover that each of them has a story that has never been told before. You are only limited if you stick to what you know.

Discipline teaches you to never talk down to your audience. It teaches you the value of appropriate tone and word choice. You must bear in mind what kind of audience you are targeting and how your piece would help and appeal to them.

Discipline teaches you to organize and it makes your topic easier to break down. If you find that a topic is too complex and overwhelming, do yourself a favor: Don’t write it. If you do, your writing is denied fullness and will lack authority. We cannot be experts on everything.

Tackle your piece in small, manageable chunks. Develop each idea into a paragraph, linking these together. From here, you can create an outline that gives you a blueprint of what your article presents and what research it needs to cover.