Not Sure Where To Start Writing? Start Here.

One of the trickiest things (I think) about writing is just starting.

I mean literally, writing the first line or sentence or paragraph – coming up with something interesting or punchy or thoughtful; something that will make the reader want to keep going.

There’s a lot of pressure on those poor opening words… And while I’m better at getting started now (I’d hope so after writing professionally for 17 years), there have definitely been plenty of times I’ve sat down at the computer only to wage a mental battle with the blank screen in front of me.

(It still happens to me every time I start working on a new blog post/article/book.)

So if you want to write but don’t know where to start, here are a few little tricks that help me clear the way for some creativity – hopefully they can help you, too!

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1. Set yourself up a regular writing practice. And no, ‘regular’ doesn’t have to mean daily. I know they say if you want to be a writer, you have to write every day, but let’s be a bit realistic, shall we? We don’t all have time to commit to writing every day. But do get it in where you can and make it regular.

While you’re at it, make sure you’re getting yourself into the same space and do it at the same time each week/day/however often you do it. It could be a café down the road. Or maybe it’s your desk at home, or the backyard — whatever works for you. Heck, light a juicy candle and put on some soothing music if you feel like it. Whatever your pick, curate your space and return to it each time you write because setting a space for a specific task is a great way to train the brain into knowing that, when you sit down here, it’s time to get into writing mode.

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2. Give yourself a time limit or a word limit for the session. There’s something really daunting about a task with no end. It’s a tunnel with no light at the end, and giving yourself some parameters make a seemingly insurmountable task seem possible.

But what if no inspiration comes in that time limit? What if your 20 or 30 or 60 minutes are ticking by and all you have is a blank page or you try and try and just… can’t… get… to… the… word… limit… Don’t be hard on yourself, boo. Stress and creativity don’t go hand in hand, and the more you freak out about your lack of opening line, the less likely that purler is going to float on into that beautiful, frazzled brain. So if it’s not working for you today, put it aside, do something else, try again tomorrow.

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3. Before you start writing, warm up with some writing prompts or journalling. This stretches your creativity muscles ahead of the big game, so to speak. You could do a quick google search for creative writing prompts or journal prompts; you could free write (aka just put open to paper and go with what flows); you could even do something so super simple like reflecting on what you’re grateful for that day, or that classic mindfulness task – note five things you see, four things you can touch/physically feel, three things you hear, two things you smell and one thing you can taste.

Whatever you choose, a quick dip into some writing with zero pressure or expectations can help loosen things up and get you into that creative flow.

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4. Remember, whatever you write is not set in stone. This is literally something I remind myself of every single time I write. I’ll whip something up, decide it sucks, try again… and repeat ad nauseum until I remember that I can go back to this later. “Just write something, anything,” I remind myself – with the promise to come back and revisit it. And you know what? Sometimes what I’ve written isn’t as bad as I initially thought (it was just that annoying self-doubt coming to bust my balls). Then again, sometimes it really does suck, but by the time I’m going back to it, I’m in the thick of the story, I’m feeling the vibes and somehow, those words can just flow a little better.

But the number of intros I’ve written that have ended up on the cutting room floor, ugh, I cannot even tell you! So just start. If it sucks, let it suck. You can come back and sort it out later.

Do you have any other tips to get unstuck when the start of your story’s got you stumped? I’d love to hear in the comments!