My new mantra, writing is thinking, writing is thinking, writing is thinking.

Realizations:
You don't really know what you think you start writing.
Once you start writing you have these epiphanies, you realize: "oh, that's what I was thinking?!"
There's no use in worrying that you have nothing to say yet. Of course you have nothing to say, you haven't been writing! It is a virtuous cycle: writing becomes thinking becomes writing becomes thinking. As a wise man once said to me in a writing workshop, writing forces you to commit things to paper. In committing things to paper you are forced to think long and hard in a way you incapable of when you're staring off into space.
This is not to suggest that inspiration can't strike in other places. It can: in the shower, in the grocery store, wherever. For this reason I carry a pen and paper everywhere.

Writing also presents the same emotional challenges that independent travelling once did for me, especially back when I first started travelling. Writing is like therapy, travelling is like therapy. You must face your insecurities and stare them down. You must face the things you think you cannot do and do them.

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