1. Writing does get a little easier once you start. A little.
2. “Just start writing” isn’t as difficult as you might think. Just … start!
3. Start writing about the first thing that comes to mind, because that’s how ideas are born.
4. If you come back to what you wrote later and you don’t like it, you can always start again.
5. But you’ll never know if an idea is going to work until you try it.
6. It’s just a [digital] piece of paper! It’s not going to hurt you!
7. Everyone starts with a blank page. You’re not alone.
8. What you write doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be there.
9. Focus on the story — the quality (and quantity) are less important right now.
10. You don’t have to write a whole book in one day! Just a very small part of one.
11. No amount of writing time is wasted time. Try it and see what happens. Try SOMETHING.
12. YOU CAN DO IT! You! Can! Do! It! Write one word. Right now. Then two. 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 