I wrote 15 pages in 4.5 hours this morning and it made me think about this

I used to think I was a good writer. I used to think I was a really good writer and anything I wrote needed to be really good. I was 17 years old and I would get so. incredibly. stressed. about writing anything it would take me hours and drive me to tears.

It was really nice when I stopped worrying about writing. It really hit me when I realized that my timed essays were usually better than the ones I had to slog through at home. When I wanted to just get my idea across, my writing was much better than when I was trying to write something good.

Now I just write whatever, and whatever I write is probably fine. It's certainly better than what I used to get all stressed about.