writing and fire

Writing is like starting a fire: thinking about it makes absolutely no difference. You need to gather kindling and then make a spark and then you can put progressively bigger pieces of wood (or whatever) on the fire, and then you have a really good fire going. 

There's an equivalent dynamic with writing. Imagine if we tried to start a fire by thinking about it. The idea is ridiculous. Yet we wrack our brains trying to think of something to write about, and think that that mental effort somehow helps us to get something written. 

There's a kind of momentum that mere action engenders. 

Depression slows you down and makes ordinary tasks overwhelming. So, I think, I've got to gather sticks, and I do that, but it takes me so long and I can't believe in the fire, so I'm just gathering sticks.