How to get started
You might have the best idea in the world, but if you can’t get it written down, no one will ever know. It is important to get started.
It’s not unusual to get stuck right at the start, to find those first few words the hardest of all to write. So what do you do about it? Here are a couple of ideas:
Don’t start at the beginning
Write a description from the middle. Will your story have a dramatic ending? Then write that dramatic ending first. You will be surprised how much it can help just to have something written.Grab a random first line and see where it takes you
Here are some example first lines:- We took the corner too fast and the water was right ahead of us.
- That day the bridleway was carpeted with bluebells.
- Everything was fine until the unicorn’s horn got caught in the Christmas lights.
- The moment I clapped eyes on the lorry in the yard, I screamed and began to sprint towards it.
- Misty had always shied at wheelie bins, as though she thought a goblin would spring out, only this time she was right.
- Kimble begin to quiver with excitement as his rider steered him towards the ring.
- I was just striding out the distance between the spread and the upright when I felt a dig in the ribs and a voice murmured, ‘Don’t bother, you’ll be eliminated at the first.’
Feel free to use one of these if you want, or adapt one of them to suit your story.
Top tip 1: How to decide what to write about
Top tip 3: Be your own critic
Top tip 7: Worked examples showing techniques in action
