1. Write something you never have to show to anyone else. Keep it short (for now).
2. Pitch yourself (or something you wrote) to a total stranger — preferably someone in a position to potentially agree to work with you.
3. Spend some time reading the type of work you want to publish someday. Even just an hour.
4. Read a few stories about how successful writers got their starts. Maybe something they did might be able to work for you, too.
5. Spend some time writing. It doesn’t matter what, where, or how. Just make it happen.
6. Open that document you’ve let collect dust on your hard drive. Just open it.
7. Maybe once you open it, you could start rereading some of it. Just a few paragraphs.
8. Or, you could TRY starting up again where you left off, even if it’s rough.
9. Make a list of the projects you want to start, continue, and/or finish in the next month/few months/year.
10. Pick one project to focus on and put just 30 minutes of work into it, for now.
11. Embrace your fear. This is terrifying. But you can do it.
Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a staff writer with The Cheat Sheet, a freelance editor and writer, and a 10-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food and nerdy things.
Meg Dowell Writes 
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