I don’t know what to write. I’ve been contemplating this Beacon article for a few days now and have nothing to show for it. With the help of some Travis Scott, 21 Savage, and Pink Floyd, I’ve spent a large chunk of my dwindling hours contemplating what approach to take. Should I be funny, opinionated, or objective? None of the above? Something so open-ended, like writing an article about ANYTHING, may seem easy, but in actuality the task is much more daunting than one with a specific prompt. When a situation like mine presents itself, where you have the most crippling writer’s block you’ve ever experienced, take my advice. The key: just write.

“Just write” may sound like horrible advice at first. That’s the exact thing you can’t do… right? Wrong. Whatever comes to mind, write it down. Don’t even look up from your keyboard. One of the best things you can do is write without editing yourself. I asked a couple seniors about their approaches to the college application process. Colin Kohler, already admitted to six schools, shares, “Writing is rewriting. Just put your thoughts on paper and filter out the fluff at a later time.” Colin’s insight could’ve been used by Drake Reina (Sr.), who told the Beacon, “In high school I was always prompted, so I was caught off guard by the open-endedness of college applications.”

Writing – without rewriting as you go – is a very difficult task, and takes a lot of practice. But, once you achieve that oh-so-important step, writing becomes less of a burden, and more of a process. A final draft is never done in one try; a few stages of your piece need to come first. These drafts are best when they’re just refined versions of your original glob of text. Sophomore Danielle Smith confesses, “I always just sit at my computer and stare. It’s hard to come up with ideas.” The perfect idea doesn’t exist until you find it within your writing. Putting words on paper puts new thoughts in your head. According to the University of Arizona, freewriting can help narrow your focus after a few iterations of just jotting down anything that comes to mind. Their Writing Center states, “Even if you write nonsense, the act of forcing yourself to write can help you overcome writer’s block.”

I began this article completely truthfully, but by the end, I found exactly what I wanted to write about. You can too. Just start writing!