Stephen J. Cannell is one of the most successful producers in television history. He’s created dozens of hit shows (The Rockford Files, Wiseguy, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street) and has written hundreds of TV scripts and more than a dozen novels. The secret to his success will suprise you.

Cannell is dyslexic. He can barely read. But as an up-and-coming writer, he saw this as an advantage.

For most of us, writer’s block comes from a fear of putting anything on paper because we’re afraid it won’t be good enough. But Cannell’s learning disability meant he knew that whatever he wrote wouldn’t be good enough—at least not without serious editing. So he never worried. He just wrote.

Accept that your first draft won’t be perfect. Once you know that, you can just start writing—and then start editing it into a second draft, which will be better.