Conquering Page Fright: Tips on How to Start Writing a Book
Table of Contents Show
Got page fright?
If you want start writing but don’t know where or how to begin, here is a list of ideas on how to start writing a book right here and now.
Whether you've written one hundred stories or one haiku, this list will give you tools designed to help you push past opening line jitters and page fright, which happen to all writers regardless of experience. Each book needs to be written its own way, which means you might need to try something new to start your new manuscript.
Why is starting a book so hard?
Beginning can be one of the hardest parts of writing, and you don't have to think long to realize why. From crafting the perfect first sentence to wondering if you're starting in the right place, there are dozens of reasons that can quickly crowd in to keep you from starting. Some of them come as questions.
How will I know what to say?
What should happen? What happens after that?
Worst of all—What if it isn’t good?
Don't let these questions stand between you and your story. There's no reason to fear beginnings with any more trepidation than you would pack a suitcase or open a book you haven’t read before. After all, writing is a journey, and as soon as you begin, you will have a better understanding of what you’ll need to carry on.
And one of the beauties of writing is that you can always, always begin again.
How to start writing a book: Four techniques
Here is a short list of ways to begin writing. It's short so you can try one out as soon as possible!
1. Freewriting
Get out your favorite pen and notebook, a bunch of scrap paper you tell yourself you can throw away afterwards, or open your laptop and begin writing. Set a time for your first session, even if it's just five minutes. The key to this method lies in a simple but incredibly difficult rule: Don’t stop. Don't even erase! Letting yourself write anything and everything (including “I don’t know what to write” over and over) will allow you to overcome page fright and move into actual writing. When the time you’ve set aside for freewriting is up, you can go back and edit (and perhaps delete those awkward first sentences as you found your way). If you use this method, you might be surprised at what appears on the page.
If you would like to practice freewriting, choosing a particularly striking image to write about or putting on a song and writing down what that song makes you think of is a great way to begin.
2. Make a plan
If you feel more confident to begin with a roadmap in hand, making a plan about what you'll write is a reliable method to get started. However, there’s no need to make it complicated. You don’t need a full manuscript outline to start writing—in fact, the task of creating one might keep you from beginning at all. I recommend breaking the plan into smaller parts. Consider a scene you would like to write. Who is in it? What are they doing? Where are they? When you know the answers to those three questions, decide on a time when you will write that scene and stick to it.
You might even take a step back to consider the story as a whole. Is there any research you'd like to do? Whether it's scene details or learning more about a certain craft element, make a list of what you need and where you'll look for it. The list will keep you from spinning out into the vast realms of knowledge and research that can, if you’re not careful, keep you from actually writing. There’s inspiration, and then there’s distraction!
3. Imitate the masters
In the same way that the apprentices of old masters copied paintings, you can emulate other writers to learn how to start as a writer. Consider your bookshelf—what are your favorite books? How do they introduce the main character? Do they start with action? A person? A place? How much information is given to the reader on the first page?
For this tool to be effective, it's important to read like a writer, which is to say critically. It might be useful to write down your thoughts as you consider other books, making note of anything that you feel would be great for your opening, anything that stands out as something you would like to try. Once you've identified traits, features, or approaches you like, you can put them into your story.
4. Cultivate your creativity
Creativity is something all writers should intentionally nurture. If you're having trouble starting and you feel like your ideas aren't going anywhere, your creative well might be low and in need of filling. Inspiration for writing can come from all kinds of sources beyond other stories. Listening to music, old favorites and new genres, can paint new scenes in your mind. Looking at art or creating some yourself (even if you don't consider yourself an artist) is a great way to meet your characters or envision where they live. Personally, I’ve often found it helpful to browse sites like Pinterest to help me add texture and detail to my mental pictures, especially my mental portraits of what my characters look like. (If you’re interested in reading more about how to use Pinterest as a writer, check out our blog post Using Pinterest to Stir Your Creativity.) This extends to the clothes they wear, the colors and styles, and even hairstyles. Looking at photographs of places helps me avoid resorting to putting scenes in what I sometimes call “stock locations,” such as the ubiquitous warehouse or alley.
Being active, including the simple act of taking a walk, is always good for your creativity as well. Get out into the world and pay attention to it with your senses. Listening to conversations is another great way to jumpstart your inspiration, especially if you happen to overhear something funny or intriguing. Again, collecting research can jumpstart your imagination, but be sure that you'd don't stay in research mode too long!
Creativity is a subject that we come back to often around here, so we have a more detailed discussion on it in a separate two-part blog called How to Cultivate Curiosity.
Start as many times as you need to
There are many ways to get started writing, but with any method you chose, the most important element is that you begin. You can even combine these methods, if that's useful for you. If you find something that stimulates your creativity, do a freewriting exercise on it. If you come across something fascinating in your research, make a plan about how you will incorporate it into your work. If you find a craft element in a mentor text that you want to learn more about, check out a book.
Above all, remember that nothing is carved in stone. Revision is the writer's greatest tool—you can begin anew at any time, and even if those first pages end up in the bin, no writing is ever wasted.
When you begin, the number of words you manage to put down is not as important as the act of allowing yourself to try—perhaps not succeeding at first, but trying lets you experiment until it's right. Simply getting to work means that you are that much closer to sharing your story.
There is a lot of pressure put on that tricky first sentence, which certainly is an important element, but most readers will give you a few more to change their minds. And at this stage, the only reader that matters is you. That first sentence—and even that first page—can be polished over time, so don’t let it stop you from writing.
Image thanks to Thought Catalog on Unsplash.
