Suffering with a writer’s block? Don’t know how to begin a story? Fear not, read on to find some solutions to aid your writing process.
What is the writing process?
It describes the series of physical and mental actions that people take in the course of producing any kind of text
It’s something that no two people do the same way. There is no “right way” or “wrong way” to write.
It can be a very messy and fluid process.
Writing Exercise 1
Take a moment to jot down any particular information that you have swirling in your head. It can be a character name, an experience, an object. Don’t expound on it, just simply write it down.
How to kick-start the process (mentally)
Creative solutions to stimulate your mind:
Go for a walk
Change your environment
Read inspiring quotes
Free write
Listen to music
Spend time with someone who makes you feel good
How to kick-start the process (physically)
1. Start in the middle – or anywhere
If you don’t know where to start, don’t bother deciding right now. The first line of a book is critical – but there’s no rule that says you have to start there.
The first words you write might end up being the middle of Chapter Three. That’s perfectly fine.
Once your characters develop and the plot grows in directions you didn’t expect, you may see the perfect scene to start things off with.
2. Create a synopsis
It allows you to work out story problems and emotional beats early, and serves as a road map.
From a practical standpoint, publishers require them.
Added benefit of helping to get those words on the page.
There is something psychologically freeing about knowing that the problem you are tackling has already been at least somewhat addressed in an outline.
3. Allow yourself to write badly
Nothing petrifies a writer more than the pursuit of perfection. You have this idea of a story in your head, glowing and golden and wonderful, and as soon as you try to set it down on the page, it turns into something plodding, gray, and feeble.
Just write! Get something down. Later you can tweak and polish and fiddle about as much as you like, but before you can make changes, it’s vital that you at least have something to work with.
4. Have a free writing session
Write about your feelings or how your day was, this gets the first words out and allows you to feel freed from writer’s block.
Scribble and draw, get used to the sensation of pen in hand, words may form in the scribbles for inspiration.
Structuring the start
Consider starting with some great point which would happen at the end and then tell the story which led to it.
Consider starting with a question: Can you hear me? Is anyone out there?
Addressing the reader can create an interesting dynamic.
Have multiple beginnings and let an outsider read it and get feedback. This will help you see things from a new perspective.
Examples of powerful beginnings
Romeo & Juliet (William Shakespeare)
“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.”
Nervous Conditions (Tsitsi Dangarembga)
“I was not sorry when my brother died.”
Writing Exercise 2
Using what you wrote in the first exercise, together with some of the techniques discussed, write an extended piece that may serve as the beginning to your story.
It does not have to be the perfect introduction.
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