Actually sitting down and taking the time to brainstorm

Every new article begins with 20+ ideas jotted down in your Notes app, and sometimes it takes a lot of self-motivation to actually settle in, pick one, and commit to writing it.

Realizing all of your best ideas have already been written about

Every angle of every argument of the topic you want to write about seems to have been explored already, and you have to resort to the most random components of your topic list because you need to stand out somehow.

Finally settling on one obscure topic

Is it an Earth-shattering perspective? Nope. Is it important or relevant in any way? Maybe not. Is it unique, and are you going to produce the most important piece of writing on this topic over the course of the next hour? Absolutely.

Trying (and sometimes failing) to come up with a unique attention-grabber

Every English instructor you've ever had has warned you against the fun fact, quote, definition, and question cliches, but they're still the first place your mind goes to when you start an article.

Running into writer's block five times in the first paragraph

Sometimes, words just flow from your keyboard and your perfect article is finished in half an hour. But the other 90% of the time? Slow and painful.

Finally finishing the article

You did it! The hard part's over. Now you get to relax, perfect your writing, and get your article ready to be published.

Proofreading, then proofreading again

While you were in the zone and typing at the speed of light, you somehow forgot how grammar works and how to organize your thoughts. Luckily, this is normally an easy fix.

Coming up with a catchy headline

This is the one chance you have to draw people in, so you pull out all the stops to make sure you get as many views as possible.

Submitting your draft to your editor

Your community's Editor-in-Chief is the first person who's going to see your killer article, and obviously you're excited to share your handiwork with someone else.

Waiting for your article to be published on the website

When is it going to be posted? Did you somehow forget to submit it despite double-checking a thousand times? Is it going to get thousands of views or be a complete flop? So much goes on in your head while you wait for your masterpiece to go live.

Sharing your article with all of your friends

Naturally, you have to saturate every single one of your social media accounts with links of your newest creation. It might be a little much for some of your friends, but you have no regrets because, at the end of the day, you're fiercely proud of what you created.