I used to be the world's most constipated writer. I charged every line of prose with cosmic significance. Parenthood cleared away most of those illusions. Then I read something that changed my writing habits completely, namely that 300 words a day means you can write a novel in a year. Three hundred words a day? I can do that(!) I thought to myself. That's easy, it's only a paragraph!
Suddenly writing became something achievable rather than a goal so overwhelming there was never any point in even getting started.
I now write about 1,000 words a day (as well as work full-time). I write on planes when travelling on business, in hotels, during my lunch hour or in the evenings at home when the kids are in bed. I always start writing by revising what I wrote the previous day(s). This way I can 'warm up' quite painlessly and maybe even write 2-300 words before I even realise that I've begun the heavy-lifting.
Lastly, I used to start lots of novels and never finish them. Now when I write, my guiding principle is 'FTTFFS'.
What's 'FTFTFFS? - Finish the thing for fuck's sake
Finishing a novel becomes my single, most important goal. I do not allow myself to become distracted by anything else, above all by negative thoughts such as "the whole thing is a pile of crap so why bother."
The truth is that a writer is the least suited person in the world to decide whether his/her novel is any good or not.
I might be writing rubbish or something fit to win the Nobel Prize for literature but if I don't finish my book, the question will be entirely academic and I never will win the Nobel Prize or anything else.
Moving forwards therefore becomes more important than getting everything 'perfect' whatever that means in this context.
Once I've finished I can go back and cut, amend, delete, add, take out, invent or edit in as many different ways as I want.
But the best thing of all, is that I'll be editing a finished novel!
All the best