A blank page or an empty screen can seem quite daunting. It’s waiting for you to place upon it a single word, to begin writing.
Every writer feels its weight.
It’s like a theatre quiet just before the show begins, when the audience has stopped their chattering and suddenly, hush.
The seconds pass, the minutes drag, the only possible interruption, a cough, a sneeze and you.
You don’t want to disappoint. And yet, sometimes, maybe often times, you feel ill equipped for the task. Fingers hovering over the keyboard, 26 letters awaiting your command and still, nothing.
How to begin?
When typewriters were still in use, a writer often kept a target for their misspent words. It came in the shape of a bin and was positioned a challenging distance from their desk.
As the words flowed, and sometimes not particularly well, the writer scrunched up unwanted pages and tossed them into the bin.
All those words discarded, a bin full, pages scattered around it, so many false starts to so many promising beginnings. Words written and rewritten and not yet submitted.
If that’s you, if you have a virtual bin for your misspent words, don’t despair. Few of us, if any, get it right the first time.
How to start writing?
My advice is don’t be too precious about that first word, not even that first sentence, just get started. And remember, rewriting is part of the process of writing. It’s an essential step to produce a well constructed, well written piece.
Also comforting to know is that if you don’t get it right the first time, you can rewrite it later.
