If you're experiencing writer's block (and who of us hasn't), the problem may be that you're worried about getting the assignment right the first time you put fingers to keyboard. Not going to happen.
Rarely do I get it right the first time.
I don't know any writers who do.
In fact, I know of one writer/speaker who goes through as many as 25 drafts before he feels confident enough to give his work to an editor. And then he'll go through several more drafts once he gets the critique back from the editor.
Some 90 percent of writing is actually rewriting. You get your first draft down, take a breather, and then start rewriting. Multiple times.
Recognizing that fact should be liberating. Something about not expecting to get everything perfect the first times frees up the right brain to do its creative work. Later, when the the ideas settle in and the structure you planned (see my last post) begins to fill out, you can start to worry about punctuation, spelling, sentence structure--all that left-brain stuff. But for now, give your right brain permission to run wild. Ruminate. Conjecture. Experiment.
Of course, going through multiple drafts takes time. You've got to be very good or very stupid to try to do your best work the night before an assignment is due. Start on it as soon as you get it, play around with the first draft or two or three. Then let it sit a day or two or three and come back for another look. You'll be surprised at how much you missed seeing before.
When you get to the point where you find yourself changing commas back and forth, maybe putting back that word you cut from the previous draft, you'll know you've arrived. You have your final draft.
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