Want to Overcome Self-Sabotage? Start with This Question.

By Lisa Cooper Ellison

I have always hated pin the tail on the donkey.

Growing up in the late 1970s and ‘80s, it was the birthday party game of choice. I wilted every time I saw that paper donkey taped to the wall, knowing that after cake, I’d be blindfolded, spun around, and sent on a futile mission.

Writing can feel the same way—we start with a sparkly idea, but the path between inspiration and completion can be just as disorienting. And like playing pin the tail on the donkey, our...