“But I learned long ago that you cannot tell how you will end by how you start.”
- John Steinbeck, Journal of a Novel
I think the hardest part of writing, for me, is starting. Once I have a couple of words on the blank screen, it gets easier. But the nagging doubts, the goal to have each word come out perfect, the ambition of getting things done in a certain amount of time, creates pressure that leads to self-doubt, and consequently, the inability to get started. And when I start out slow, I fear that I’m going to end up the same way. Slow.
Life can be like that, too. You make these grand plans, you think about all the things you can do, and then, just like that you’ve created all these big dreams with no idea about how to start. The big goals can get larger than life and feel like they’re out of your hands.
The trick is simply to start. Write a paragraph, a sentence, a word. Get the flow going. Know the next step, and do it. There will always be time to come back, to reassess, to edit, to rethink, to look at the broader picture. But the first step is simply, to write.
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I’m listening to: Closer by Travis
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