Dear Future Me (The One Who Doesn't Want to Write Today),

In Case of Writer's Block: Please Read

Let’s not pretend.

I know exactly how you feel right now. The cursor is blinking like it's mocking you, and every sentence sounds hollow. You’ve convinced yourself this is different—that this time you’ve actually run out of things to say. Or worse, that what you have to say no longer matters.

Let me offer a reminder from your better self, your past self—the one who wrote this letter when the words were flowing and the doubt was dormant:

“You don’t need to feel like writing to write. You need to write to feel like writing.”

This isn’t about inspiration. It never was.

We romanticize the muse because it gives us a scapegoat. It lets us off the hook. But real writers know the truth—motivation is a myth when it comes to mastery. What matters is not what you feel. What matters is what you do despite what you feel.

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Remember These Three Truths When You Want to Quit:

• Discipline builds confidence. Every time you show up without motivation, you teach yourself that you’re the kind of person who shows up anyway.

• Consistency carves clarity. Writing clarifies your thinking. Your block isn’t a lack of ideas. It’s a surplus of self-doubt.

• You are not your thoughts. The voice in your head that says you’re out of ideas? That’s not the voice of truth. That’s fear in disguise.

When I wrote this letter, I was clear-headed and full of purpose. I remembered why we do this—why we keep showing up.

Let me remind you of that now.

We write because we must.

Because there’s something sacred about taking the chaos in your mind and shaping it into something coherent, honest, and brave.

Because we’ve seen what happens when people bury their stories, their anger, their questions, their wonder. It calcifies. It kills something inside.

Because someone out there is waiting—not for perfect prose, but for proof that they are not alone.

You’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: Motivation is not the engine. It’s the exhaust. It comes after the work, not before.

So don’t wait to feel good about writing. Write badly. Write ugly. Write the worst garbage you’ve ever put on the page if you must. But write.

Start with a sentence so simple it’s almost embarrassing. Then write the next one. Stack enough of them, and you’ll surprise yourself.

And if nothing else, remember this:

Every great piece of writing begins with a terrible first draft.

The magic isn’t in the first spark—it’s in the persistence that keeps striking flint after flint, trusting that the fire will come.

You’ve done this before. You’ll do it again.

Now go. Write like hell.

– Matt

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Matt DiGeronimo is a writer, thinker, and contrarian who simplifies the complex and challenges conventional wisdom. Please message me for public speaking or coaching opportunities.

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