Maybe not every writer is cursed with this affliction, but I suffer from it every time I start a new project - be it a new game, a short story or a novel. I've already got the main points of the plot in my head and I know who all the major characters are - but the agony of actually starting to write, not to mention the torture of getting that first sentence acceptable!
I have appreciated the irony that when I wrote my last essay in University I thought "Well, that's done. " I wish I could time-travel back and say to my younger self "You won't believe what you're going to be doing decades from now. Different type of writing - but still deadlines and expectations await you!"
Of course without the agony of the blank page there wouldn't be the ecstasy of the full page not to mention the celebration of the completed project.
But oh...there is nothing more barren than that mocking blank page.
The trick is to get rid of the blank page. Write your name at the top. Or the date. Or a favorite quote. Or something that might motivate you, like "I am powerful." And if you're working on a book or a short story, etc., don't stop at the end of a page. Write the next sentence on a fresh page, then stop.
ReplyDeleteHelen
Straight From Hel
Helen has a good point. Just start with anything.
ReplyDeleteAnother point: Don't necessarily start at the beginning. If that's a sticking point, and you sound like you know lots of story detail already, start at some other point in the book. That's actually kind of fun if you're familiar enough with what's gonna happen.
Best Regards, Galen
Imagineering Fiction Blog
Helen and Galen have great suggestions. One that sometimes works for me is to come up with as much as possible in my head and THEN write down a lot of material. I love merrily typing away and feeling clever as if the material were JUST THEN coming into my head.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
No, there's nothing worse. And those wiser and more articulate than I have already commented, so I'll just say, "Follow their advice."
ReplyDeleteIf you're still stuck after that, then ask Elizabeth for a Guinness.
I tend to psych myself out and write at the top, "This does not have to be perfect -- feel free to suck as much as you want."
ReplyDeleteMost of the time it works. Other times I wind up cursing back at it.
I shared this trick with my students -- it's amusing when they turn in their final drafts and I discover that they've forgotten to delete it.
Isn't it the funniest thing, though? No matter how many times we hear all this good advice, there's still that reluctance to sit down and face a blank page. Writers are very strange people.
ReplyDeleteHelen, I like your thinking and I usually do try to leave something on a page so I'm only facing the blankness once.
ReplyDeleteGalen, thanks for the suggestion. I've never started anywhere but the beginning, shall give it a try!
Elizabeth, that's brilliant! I'm upset that I haven't thought of it myself! Thank you!
Jack, I think anyone who can write such marvelous comedy is pretty wise. Guinness would never be unwelcome in this household!
Elisa, I've tried something similar, but honestly it just makes me feel like now I REALLY won't be able to write anything!
I agree, Patricia, we are very strange people. Perhaps some form of therapy would be in order!
Hope it helps, Elspeth! If not, as Jack mentioned, a Guinness likely will. :)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
I have no toruble starting. I have no trouble ending. It's that middle part that kicks my butt every time. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI do, however, also have trouble spelling trouble.
ReplyDeleteI share your pain. Thanks for dropping by! Hope you'll continue to do so!
ReplyDeleteIt's like in a art class and the teacher says, "cover your whole canvas with a soft light blue! No more blank canvas. Get something down, even if you have to copy a scripture!! Of course then we must go delete it--but only after we get other words on the page! And yes, I like the idea of not necessarily starting at the beginning.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughts, Sylvia - and thanks for following my blog. Greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI am one of those people who writes first in my mind and then puts it down on paper/ screen. And if I am stuck in a situation where I need to start on a fresh page/ screen, I format the page with my favourite font, and spacing, so I feel I have achieved something and can start writing.
ReplyDeleteWho says writers aren't strange people?