Jan 11 2009
Getting Started - Write like you talk, for now.
Before the creation of writing, knowledge was passed through oration. Humans are naturally creative beings and many of us tell stories without even thinking about how. The problem is many people strike blank when sitting down to start a story. To combat this, start the story off as if you were telling it to a friend, or even a child. Once the story starts to take shape, you can always go back and change the beginning to something a little more custom tailored to work of art. Try thinking of some stories you’ve told, whether true or fabricated. How did you start them? They likely started off sounding something like:
“Well, I was planning on getting back to Barbara about her terrible work, but my own work was piling up. I was distracted and at the end of the week before I had a chance to speak with her, she’d been let go.”
“Remember my old friend James? No? Well, he was a truly remarkable fellow, but had a terrible self-image. Anyway, he just graduated from college and a huge marketing firm scouted him. He wrote that new cereal jingle; he’s making millions!”
Or even something a little more simple and familiar like
“There was once a little boy named Dylan. Dylan wasn’t a bad kid, really, but doing what he was told by his parents was often so dreadfully boring, he couldn’t help but try to have some fun. That is usually when the trouble started.”
These beginnings are not terrible creative or interesting, but at least they get you rolling. Once the pen ink starts flowing you might find yourself running out of daylight, or for those of you who write at night, that you’re running into it.
