Writing From Scratch

          At my Monday night writer's group we were talking about how hard it is to write the first draft of a story.  One of my colleagues who is writing a YA novel said, "If I had known how hard it would be to write I don't think I ever would have started.  It's agony." Another, an experienced published writer, whose work I greatly admire, said she has been spending time doing research for a creative non-fiction piece she wants to write, but every time she gets near starting she decides she needs to do more research.  "Anything to avoid the blank page."

          I was reminded of something I read years and years ago as advice to a novice writer.  It was:  Let those first words come out as stupidly as they like.  No one is going to rush out and publish it as it is.  Over the years that has become a sort of mantra to me.  Every time I face the computer and am about to start a new piece of writing, I repeat those two sentences.  I tell myself over and over again, just get it down, get anything down.  You can change it and revise it and rearrange it and polish it a million times over before you send it out for anyone to see.

          In fact I am aware that I am doing that very thing right now, just getting it down.  And after I get it down I will reread it and make sure it says what I want it to say before I push the button at the top of the page that says Publish.