Trouble Starting New Writing Projects?

 

I want to...  I plan to... I am going to...  I will... How many times have you started a sentence like that either mentally or aloud when thinking about future writing projects? 

How many times have you promised yourself to begin writing your family stories? Or that novel that's been circling your brain for years? Or the picture book that you are sure will be a hit? Or putting your poems into book form? Or writing your memoir? Or revising an old novel?

We think about these writing projects for a long time before we ever take that leap and start writing. We can come up with a lot of excuses for not starting, many of them valid but a lot that are nothing more than avoiding the first step. 

If you fit into this category, know that you are far from alone. This situation occurs for many writers. The big question is WHY?

It's going to be a lot of work. It probably will, but isn't achieving something you've thought about for a long time worth pushing yourself and working hard? 

I'm afraid it won't be any good. That's possible, but you'll never know unless you start, keep writing, and finish. Even if your project does not get published, you'll still know that you achieved something you'd been wanting to do. 

I'm not sure I'm a good enough writer. We only become 'good' writers by practicing our art. We cannot be fine writers if all we do is think about what we want to write. We have to write and rewrite over and over to attain the status of a 'good' writer. We also have to continue to learn about writing by reading, talking with other writers, joining writing groups, and being observant.

I have too many other things in my life to find time to write. We all have 'other' things in our lives. I have always found that we can find time for the things we want to do. The ones we prefer to skip are easy to push in the background. The question here is 'how much desire to start a project is there?'

What if my new project is a roaring success? Can I live up to it with a new project? If you don't try, you'll never know. Don't let thoughts like this hold you back.

Don't squelch your dreams. Scoop up some determination and get started. If not now, when?

Writers and New Beginnings

There's a bit of excitement when starting something new--a new job, a new relationship, a new book to read, a new house, a new year. It's wonderful to put your foot on a blank path with all kinds of possibilities ahead of you.

So it is for writers who get the urge to begin a new writing project. Quite often, I have thoughts about it for days, even weeks, before I actually sit down and put fingers to keyboard. Other times, I get inspired, drop other tasks and start pounding the keys to get that first draft written. The best thing is that when it's time to begin, I have no doubts. 

I also do not know if what I'm about to ensue will be of any worth or not. Some are and some are pure drivel. As the poster tells us, we should trust the magic of beginnings. That magic comes from being enthused, or even excited, about writing something new. It's probably a time that brings out the best 'writer' in us. 

When we have been working on a writing project, such as a full novel, for what can feel like an eternity, we're less apt to be as excited as we were at the onset. Thoughts like Will I ever finish? Why did I ever start this? If I'm bored with this, maybe readers will be, too. I'm so done with this! run through our minds. It's then that we should perhaps set the old aside and begin something new. It could give us the spark needed to go back to the other project with a bit more enthusiasm. 

Last evening, I started reading a book recommended to me by a friend. I turned the first pages to the page where the novel begins. It startled me a bit because there was one paragraph followed by a lone sentence. That handful of words were skillfully written, making me want to turn the page and get into the story. I felt excited about was to come after reading the hint in the concise opening page. 

That's the way I want to feel when I start writing a new story. I hope I never have that same old, same old attitude when an entirely new project with endless possibilities is mine to grasp and enjoy. How about you? What is the best part of beginning a new writing project? What magic do you find with each one?