Along with my apparent obsession with Meditations, I am also very caught up in the works of Stephen Pressfield. In The War of Art, he wrote:
How many pages have I produced? I don't care. Are they any good? I don't even think about it. All that matters is I've put in my time and hit it with all I've got
A recurring theme I have been hearing is essentially, "Just do the work." Brian Koppelman talks a lot about his morning pages. In his interview with Ed Burns, Burns talked about how he sits down at his computer and writes. He writes for three, four hours, until he's done writing for the day. He knows that the writing may not be good initially, but maybe something will come from it later - some piece of dialogue, some scene description.
The important part is putting in the work.
I don't recall the specific podcast or article, and honestly, it has probably come up a number of times, as it feels like a recurring theme. If I sit down at the piano, I would not be expected to turn out something great. I won't even be expected to turn out something mediocre. Why? Because I have not put in the time and work to develop those skills.
But with writing, there is a different expectation. Maybe it is that writing, at its base, is just another form of communication, and we all communicate, right? I write text messages and emails all day, and well, I've been talking for nearly my entire life, so I should be able to communicate a message well, right?
But learning any skill, writing included - communication included - takes time and effort.
But, it's not just about the time put in. It needs to be worthwhile time. Like Pressfield says, "All that matters is I've put in my time and hit it with all I've got." It's not just time. It's also the quality of the effort you bring. I remember a professor in college saying that, "It isn't that practice makes perfect; perfect practice makes perfect." Time alone isn't enough.
It makes me think back to all of the time I spent studying poker years ago. In any given session, it is not about whether you win or lose. It's about whether or not you made the right decisions that give you positive expectation long-term.
Like poker, with writing (or any creative endeavor for that matter), the result of any given day is irrelevant, as long as you are doing the right things and putting in the necessary time and effort.