If fiction were nonfiction....

Thinking in terms of the writing process on this one.

Yesterday I went to the corner coffee shop to do a bit of editing, a bit of outlining and some writing. The editing was for one of the guest blog pieces I mentioned earlier, due this weekend. Wednesday evening, I wrote out the rough draft, and as I wrote, I finally got to the message I wanted to convey. It didn't start until the third page, but it was there, and it's highly unlikely from that point to the end that I will edit at all.

As I worked on rewriting the first third of the piece, I had a sudden realization that writing fiction and writing nonfiction should essentially be the same type of process: just write. Sit down, pen on paper, and just start writing.

But that isn't so. I marveled at the realization that in fiction, I struggle to get started. I will find almost anything to do before writing: dishes, take a shower, call my mother..practically any excuse to start. With nonfiction, I grab a pen, the portfolio, and launch into my writing, knowing that I'll probably draft a little, revise a little and work in better words and phrases.

It comes down to this: I start nonfiction knowing and expecting I'll draft, but start fiction with the need for perfection, which keeps me from starting at all many times.

Completely insane.

Do you have this problem? If so, how have you worked on it? It's very interesting to me, especially with the belief that if I can approach fiction with my nonfiction mindset, I might actually get somewhere....