I’m going to confess something about being a writer. Out of the hours and hours that writers devote to “writing,” about half of it is spent staring at a blank screen or notebook. The reason for this is sometimes writer’s block, or not being able to think of something to write about or finish something already in progress, but not always. Instead, we get so caught up in our ideas and worries that we can’t even bring ourselves to begin.
It happens to me almost every time I want to work on a new piece. It happened when I started this blog post. I can plan out my idea to perfection—each character, transition, pivotal moment, and ending—but I still can’t figure out how to start it.
First comes the questions about what to do. Do I take the in media res approach and jump right into the action? Do I go for humor or seriousness? Do I start with dialogue? Do I need a cryptic opening that foreshadows the brilliance of the piece?
Next, I start to overthink and panic. What if I start and realize ten pages later that I should have started somewhere else? What if I start it wrong and it doesn’t go anywhere? What if it doesn’t come out as good on paper as it does in my head?
Whatifwhatifwhatif?
I’m not the only writer who has these thoughts. It happens to all of us, even the professionals. And yet, they still manage to create masterpieces and win recognition we hope someday to earn as well. So how do they do it?
It’s simple. They start.
I recently read an article about “Building a corner.” It goes like this: puzzles seem impossible at first, right? There are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pieces, and somehow they’re supposed to form a brilliant picture. It would be insane to pick one at random and start to build off of that, right? So what do puzzlers do?
They find all the edge pieces, pick a corner, and get to work.
It’s the same with writing. You have to start with something you can clearly visualize—whether that’s a specific character, a scene, a piece of dialogue, a setting, or something else. As long as you can see it well, you have a good chance of starting on the right foot and keeping that momentum going.
If it’s not coming easily, you have to force it. Make yourself start somewhere, anywhere, and see where it takes you. Give yourself permission to experiment with the beginning. Once you’ve put something down, you’ve tackled the biggest obstacle.
The important thing to remember is that whatever you start with isn’t set in stone. If days (or even weeks) later, once you’ve made a lot of progress and feel confident in keeping your momentum, you decide you don’t like your beginning—guess what? You can rewrite it. Nothing is set in stone yet, so you have to let go of the idea that everything has to be perfect immediately.
That’s why we have first drafts and second drafts and third drafts and workshops and editors and everything else that helps us fine-tune a piece until we’re finally satisfied with it. If you give yourself permission to do something that will at least get you started, even if you don’t like it later, then you’re succeeding.
Push all those questions and doubts aside. Pick up your pen or keyboard, and just start.
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