Is there anything scarier than staring down an empty page with a story in your head and not a single idea how to put it into words? Plenty I'm sure, but that feeling is unique and engulfing and unquestionably scary itself too.
So How Do You Start?
Do you plot? Plan? Wing it? Do you just vomit words onto the page in hopes that all will be revealed in time?
For some it's an all too easy thing to begin the insane journey that is story telling. They pick little bits up here and there and work on pure instinct. Some require years of study, working knowledge, and constant upkeep to find their works on the bars of their perceived "good enough" scale. But what are those scales?
As Ernest Hemingway is quoted saying:
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.” ― Ernest Hemingway
Perhaps that is the case, regardless of your writing style, of your story crafting style, it is as simple as Hemingway suggests. Is there no other more intimate moment than the staring of a story made up of your deepest words, your most naked thoughts? Good art is an extension of one's soul. It is made up of all of the parts that are you. Good art is made for you, and you alone, and it is the baring of that soul to share it with others. If you hold back, if you create for others with no piece of yourself is it really art?
Are you ready to share that?
Is it the fear of the unknown that holds you back? Is it the worry that it will be unliked, or not well received. Or are you simply scared to bare your soul? Are you not ready?
Not everyone will find the bleeding of a soul onto pages an easy task, even fewer will find it an enjoyable experience, and even less of those will find the passion in it. Some may not stumble their way into that particular hell until much later in life. Some may not see the success until they've long left this world and their work finds the audience meant to resonate with it.
If these are conditions you cannot abide by, if all you seek is fame, money, and the approval of others this . . . may not be the road you want to take. However, if the thrill, if the nag of the story is too strong, maybe there is hope yet.
“If a story is in you, it has to come out.” ― William Faulkner
So, continue staring at that page, if this is the case. Work through every detail, delve into every idea. Indulge the curiosity and keep writing none-sense words until something feels right.
Expand upon it. Push yourself, because that is the only means to break past the natural human inclination to hold back from baring the soul.
It is when we tell the story we were meant to that it suddenly becomes very easy to write.
Find that story. Take a walk if that's what you need, feed the beasts of fantasy, of action, watch movies, find the moments in life that inspire you. There is no guarantee that staring at that blank page will ever do you any good. Perhaps you haven't found the right start, hit the right nerve, opened the right door in your psyche to really truly know your story yet. Whatever block you face you must stop and think about how best to tackle it. And sometimes, you yourself may be the very thing holding you back. Do not despair in this thought however, for a little work is all it takes to fix this.
It is the upkeep of the soul, of the mind and body that give you a chance to know your story. Sometimes there is no way to just sit and write. Sometimes, you have to live life a little. That story will come in time, when its needed, when its ready, when you are ready.
Disclaimer: Because this is the internet and common sense isn't so common anymore, please be careful, safe, and kind in taking this advice to heart. I am not encouraging scoundrel or criminal behavior.
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