I was listening to UK based radio station Classic FM earlier this week when it was reported a well known composer still suffered nerves when coming up with a new composition. They were still made nervous by the blank page, despite their many years of successful composition. Ironically, this cheered me up somewhat. It's the same for any creator and I know it's true for me. That touch of nerves before you start writing is the worst bit. Once you get going, you're absolutely okay.
I've learned over time to just get the words down any old how. Editing and polishing happen much later. Nobody writes a perfect draft. Shakespeare didn't. Austen didn't. Dickens didn't. I'm certainly not going to but that's fine! So how can you get over the nervous start bit or, at least, make it not so bad and easier to handle?
I've found having a range of ways to get started on stories or blog posts helpful. I also find having brainstorming sessions every so often useful to jot down ideas and when I am struggling, I can turn to these and find something to inspire me there. My range of ways to get started include:-
1. Using a random word generator, pick three, and put them into a story. Using random words like this makes me think deeper and if there is no obvious link between the three words, even better. It makes me think again!
2. Look back over my old blog posts and stories. Often there will a link there I didn't follow up at the time but might prove useful now.
3. Take a well known saying and use it as a theme or title (sometimes both) for a story or article.
4. Use a spider diagram or flowchart to flesh out basic ideas. That will soon show if ideas in the back of my head do have some "legs" to them or not. Naturally I go with the ones that do! This is especially useful when used in conjunction with a random word generator.
5. Look up writing competitions. Sometimes I'll enter said competitions. Sometimes I'll just write up a story to the theme and not submit it deliberately. I will go back to that story at a later date to polish it up further knowing it is not ready for a competition yet but I can still write to the theme. Who knows? The story might end up in an anthology later. Themes come up reasonably often so there will be other competitions the story the might fit.
However you get over the blank page nerves, happy writing and good luck!
Image Credit: Pixabay
I've learned over time to just get the words down any old how. Editing and polishing happen much later. Nobody writes a perfect draft. Shakespeare didn't. Austen didn't. Dickens didn't. I'm certainly not going to but that's fine! So how can you get over the nervous start bit or, at least, make it not so bad and easier to handle?
I've found having a range of ways to get started on stories or blog posts helpful. I also find having brainstorming sessions every so often useful to jot down ideas and when I am struggling, I can turn to these and find something to inspire me there. My range of ways to get started include:-
1. Using a random word generator, pick three, and put them into a story. Using random words like this makes me think deeper and if there is no obvious link between the three words, even better. It makes me think again!
2. Look back over my old blog posts and stories. Often there will a link there I didn't follow up at the time but might prove useful now.
3. Take a well known saying and use it as a theme or title (sometimes both) for a story or article.
4. Use a spider diagram or flowchart to flesh out basic ideas. That will soon show if ideas in the back of my head do have some "legs" to them or not. Naturally I go with the ones that do! This is especially useful when used in conjunction with a random word generator.
5. Look up writing competitions. Sometimes I'll enter said competitions. Sometimes I'll just write up a story to the theme and not submit it deliberately. I will go back to that story at a later date to polish it up further knowing it is not ready for a competition yet but I can still write to the theme. Who knows? The story might end up in an anthology later. Themes come up reasonably often so there will be other competitions the story the might fit.
However you get over the blank page nerves, happy writing and good luck!
Image Credit: Pixabay
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