Starting is the Hardest Part of the Writing Process
Starting is the Hardest Part of the Writing Process
And it’s often the most difficult thing in life, too
The Story Writer’s Path
And it’s often the most difficult thing in life, too
As we begin a new year, it seems appropriate to talk about beginning.
Like me, you may have set lofty goals for 2020 — for your writing and the rest of your life. And, like me also, you might be sitting here as the new year begins wondering exactly how to get started on them.
The pat answer is to jump in and do it.
Because, really, that is what it’s all about. I’m a junkie for productivity and process articles, both about writing and every other aspect of life. And I’ve written on these topics for years.
Just do it
Sometimes I think the only real piece of advice I have is to just do it, already.
(Which is why, of course, that Nike slogan was so brilliant.)
But just doing it isn’t so easy. If it were, we wouldn’t have the avalanche of productivity, brain science and habit articles we see on Medium. (I think I’ve read nearly every one.)
And if were that easy to just do it, we’d all be thin, rich, and best-selling authors.
But we’re not. Oh, excuse me, I’m not. Maybe you are, though. (And if so — kudos!)
It has been my experience in all these years of studying and writing about these topics that the hardest part of any project is getting started.
Jump right in, the water’s fine
Yeah right. But how?
If you are anything like me, you sit and stew about it. You resist. You take a step towards, let’s say, the computer, and then pivot. Because suddenly mopping the kitchen floor sounds like fun. Or paying bills. Or walking across Antarctica.
Or maybe you manage to open your laptop but the email inbox beckons. And there you find a link you have to follow through on. And then, of course, you must check in with your favorite news outlets to see what you’ve missed in the ten minutes since you last checked.
And by the time you circle back around to opening the file for your writing, the time you allotted for it is over and you need to go do something else. (Like plan a trip to Antarctica.)
Starting (Or Restarting) a New Writing Project
Ah, the excitement of beginning a new writing project. The energy! The enthusiasm! The high hopes! This, you think, is…medium.com
Master beginnings
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
If you can just get yourself started, you’ll most likely keep going and get those words on the page. Because writing happens when you write. I know, duh. But it’s true. Time after time I prove this to myself. I start writing, even if I’m confused and unsure, and the answers come as I write. It’s just that getting to the point where the words flow is tricky.
And here’s the deal — writing is all about beginning, over and over and over again. You’ve got to begin new sentences, new paragraphs, new scenes, new chapters, new drafts, new rewrites, new copy-edits — on and on.
So it stands to reason that mastering beginnings will do much to further your writing career.
Beginnings have magic
This can be difficult to remember when you are sitting, hands poised over the keyboard, eyes glued on the blank monitor, brain not coming up with anything to write.
But beginnings do have magic. Just as this shiny new year and decade do. It’s all new, it’s all potential, it’s all waiting to be written. How cool is that? You can go any direction you want, create anything. Absolutely anything.
Your book, or story, or article, or essay is waiting to be written.
(And so is your life.)
Remember the spark
Think of how you felt last time you came home from an inspiring writing conference, or listened to a great class online. You were charged up, ready to got to it, ready to write that book and create that career. You were on fire.
The spark of that fire still exists within you. But it’s up to you to fan it into a blaze again. And you can.
To get there, sit still and close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Now, go back to that conference where you go so excited. What did you hear that made you want to go write? What idea inspired you? Open your eyes and write about it in your journal — and then get thee to the page.
Alternatively, close your eyes, breathe, and remember when you first got the idea for your project. Feel how happy and enthusiastic you were. What was it about the idea that was so wonderful for you? Write it out in your journal. And then go do the actual writing.
Face the Daunting Page Like the Kick-ass Writer You Are
You’re fired up, ready to write.medium.com
Always know where you’re going
Otherwise known as the Hemingway effect, this technique involves quitting while you're ahead.
In other words, stop before you reach the end of the chapter, so you’ve got a place to easily pick up next session. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve triumphantly finished a chapter one day, only to be stymied the next when I realized I had to face a brand-new chapter. Yet another beginning.
Legend has it that Hem often stopped writing mid-sentence so he’d know exactly where to start the next day. I don’t recommend this, because too often when I try it I forget what, exactly, I wanted to say.
One way to emulate this technique is to make notes at the end of your writing session. Note what you think is going to happen next, what you hope to accomplish in the ensuing scene, or anything that will help you get going again.
Kaizen
Kaizen is a Japanese business theory promoting the idea that small, positive changes add up to big successes.
You can apply kaizen to your writing in many ways. Tell yourself all you have to do is write a sentence. The next day write two sentences. The next day, three. And then a whole paragraph.
You can just as easily do this with word count. Start with 50 words, then jump to 100, and so on, until — the sky’s the limit!
Too often we get into an all or nothing mentality with our writing. We think we either have to write for two full hours or not at all. But that’s not true! You’ve probably heard the old adage, If you want to get something accomplished, find a busy person to do it.
That’s because a busy person knows how to fit things into small time-slots. I routinely get more writing finished in a day when I have a ton of appointments than in one when I have the whole day.
Create a vessel
Related to kaizen, sometimes creating a vessel helps you to begin. Such as:
— Open a file, title it and save it. Voila. You’ve got a vessel for the first chapter of your book.
— Create a binder to put manuscript pages in.
— Start a journal to track word count, and make notes on your progress.
— Clear off your desk to lessen distractions.
And so on. I’m sure you can think of more ways to create a vessel. It’s a way of creating a container for your project. You know the old saying — nature abhors a vacuum. And so do writers. Soon your vessel will be filling up with words.
Go to it
Quit reading on Medium and get started writing now, my friend!