Let's Start at the Middle

That's also a very good place to start.

Beginnings are hard.

I’m not talking about the first day of a new gig. This time, I’m really talking about writing.

Professional writers frequently talk about how much of writing is not writing: procrastinating, stressing, exploring social media, doing chores… Writing is awfully hard sometimes. (Also hard: Editing. But that’s a topic for another time.)

But here’s a great skill to learn: Don’t be afraid of a blank page. To some writers — and most of us have to write sometimes in our jobs — that blank page is a nightmare. I don’t feel that way. The blank page is my canvas, and I don’t care how hippy-dippy that makes me sound. When I see a blank page — like this post was before I started! — it feels exciting. It’s an opportunity.

My trick is not to sweat the intro. Just start writing. If you don’t know how to dive in, but you know what you’ll say post-intro, start there. If you know your conclusion, okay, you do you: Write that.

Professional writers tend to work with professional editors. Professional editors not infrequently cut a writer’s entire opening paragraph anyway, because the good stuff starts a few sentences later.

Allowing yourself to feel Introduction Paralysis is a crutch. The trick is to just start writing. If you can’t figure out your actual opener, skip it, and move on to the next part. It’s a lot easier to add an intro when you’re finished than it is to keep staring at a blank page as your stress level rises.

Let the blank page be your friend. Don’t let it slow you down. Figure out something that you want to say and say that. You can color in the rest later.