When the Click Happened: The Day the Page Didn’t Need to Be Perfect

She walked into the session carrying a weight heavier than her laptop.

A screenplay writer, she had been stuck on the first scene of a new project for weeks. “I know the plot, I know the characters,” she said. “But when I sit down to write... nothing. I just can’t start.”

I asked gently, “What’s stopping you from writing the first draft?”

She hesitated, then said, “I want it to be good. Perfect, even.”

That was the block.

Not the lack of ideas but the pressure to get it right from the very first line.

So I offered: “Make it terrible first.”

The client blinked. Then laughed. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Write the worst version you can. On purpose.”

That was the click waiting to happen: Perfection was holding creativity hostage.

So I offered a small invitation- “What if you write the worst version on purpose? Let it be messy. Let it suck.”

She smiled uncertainly, but agreed to try.

The following week, she came in with a different posture shoulders relaxed, a spark in her eyes.

“I did it,” she said. “I wrote the worst scene I’ve ever written. It was awful… and I loved it.”

Because once the pressure was off, her creative mind started playing again. The critic stepped aside, and the editor stepped in with kindness.

Here’s what helped:

She gave herself permission to be imperfect 

She noticed the urge to improve

And she followed that instinct, not the fear

That was the moment it clicked: You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it written.

Where in your life would permission to be messy help you move forward?