I agree with her. First drafts are roughest, and well, ugliest drafts. It's a common mistake of beginning writers, as well as seasoned ones, to expect themselves to produce shiny, perfect very polished and publishable first drafts. What these writers don't know is that these ugly and every-editor's-nightmare first drafts can provide them with opportunity to explore every angle, every slant, and every idea for an article or a work.

WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING! Well, at least try to write all of them down. This is stage where you don't let memories of your English professors get in way of writing. When you start with your first (or rough) draft, you have prerogative to hurl those boring English and grammar rules out window. Don't worry, you'll pick them up later.

STEW FOR A WHILE! After you get all your ideas down on paper, leave them. And I mean it! Don't even try touching them until a sufficient amount of time has lapsed. Give it a day or two. Let it stew on your desk. Go to your dentist, get a manicure, or write other stuff, but don't, for your muse's sake, get your hands on your first draft just yet!

And then you end up believing you're having writer's block.

You end up believing it too much that you stop writing altogether. You might even think of yourself as not a real writer.

And all because of what? You think your muse deserted you? You think you have a 7-year writer's block plague?

Think again!

There's no such thing as writer's block. And you sure as heck don't need inspiration to write!

What you do need are prompts to help get your writer's mind working and your hands writing or typing.

I call these prompts SEEDS. They are your beginnings; glimmer; little sparks that you can shape and fashion into stories, articles, essays and features.

You don't need inspiration. All you need is an idea. A SEED.

And here are a dozen seeds you can try out for yourself --