Just the other day, I started on a brand new story. Admittedly, this was after a few weeks of prep work, building the world I want it set in, sketching characters and laying it a rough plotline. Some writers don’t even do that. They dive right in from Word One and don’t even think about outlines. That’s perfectly fine. Whatever your method of starting a new story, whether short, novel or anything in between, you will always have that moment where you are staring at a blank page.
That first word leads to the first sentence, paragraph, page, and eventually, the first draft. Sometimes that blank page is daunting, and can seem like the worst hurdle to get over in the whole writing process. For me, it can be a great excuse to avoid actually starting the story, and instead spending more time outlining. Sooner or later, though, I have to start writing, otherwise it will never get done and I’ll lose any momentum I might feel.
For those who struggle with the blank page as well, here are a few things I do to help make the transition easier:
1. As I mentioned before, I do a lot of prep work. Usually at least a couple week’s worth. That way I have a mental foundation of storyline, world and characters that I can jump off of. I’m not having to pause every other sentence to make up something brand new. A lot of the material is already there, like lego blocks, and now I can arrange them however I want.
2. I set mini-milestones. Normally I write in chunks of scenes, or chapters. My goal is to finish a single scene at a time. But a whole scene can be daunting. So what I do is, after getting an opening paragraph or two, I jump down a half-page, or full page and write a bit of action or conversation that happens later on in the scene. Then, perhaps I’ll jump down another page or two and write a few lines that will end the scene. Now all I have to do is go back and fill in what’s missing. And since I have certain turning points or bits of dialogue to work toward, my writing is more focused.
3. I don’t write chronologically. This relates somewhat to setting the mini-milestones. Often, when I have a few lines defining the middle and end of a scene, I’ll jump to those and flesh out those sections before I even finish the beginning of the scene. Then I’ll go back to the beginning, add a few paragraphs, then go near the end and work more there. It’s almost impossible for me to start at line one and go straight through to an ending without hopping all around. Not sure why, but there is benefit to this kind of writing style. Since I have an idea of what’s coming near the end of a scene, I can add more details or hints or specific actions at the beginning that tie into the ending, making the pace better, the plot more logical/cohesive, or the mystery that much more satisfying for the reader (hopefully).
So there are a few ways to make filling out the white space easier on yourself. Obviously, not every trick works for everyone, but hopefully you’ll find something here that might be useful.
What are your methods for helping yourself get that first page fleshed out?
I see that smile.
I’m one who tends to just start writing. I know what characters I’m starting with and have a vague idea where the story is going to go, and that’s about it.
Personally, I think it’s a terrible way to write a book, unless you’re not interested in publication. I have fun writing, but then I have to revise the entire thing to make it a coherent story. I’m definitely going to go with some sort of outline with future novels.
Even though I haven’t really mapped my stories out, I jump around when writing, too. I think of scenes before I get to them, and just write them when they’re fresh in my mind.
But I still have to revise too much.