In her book, Writing As a Way of Healing, Louise DeSalvo shares four ways to avoid self-defeating scenarios with our writing:

First, it is essential that we write regularly in a relaxed way. That we don’t fight our process or try to force or control it.

Second, it is essential that we watch with a relaxed awareness what occurs as we write.

Third, it is essential that we don’t judge ourselves or our work. That we write to create or, in time, to finish a piece of work but without expectation of the wealth or fame that such writing may bring.

Fourth, it is essential that we be patient. That we write routinely. But that we don’t hurry our work.

The writing process by itself is valuable, DeSalvo reminds us. If we just respect that process, “something worthwhile will emerge.”