Getting Started

So you want to get started writing? Not sure how to do it? What do you write? Let me share how I got started and a path that might be able to help you, too.

As a child, I thought there was something magical about authors and writing. I didn't have any clue how they created worlds and put them on the page. Writing can seem like a daunting task, and, on one hand, it is. But it doesn’t have to be. In searching for quotes to post on our Facebook page, I have found many of them center around the sentiment, “Just write.” And basically, that’s the advice I have to offer. Just write.

I know that sounds simplistic yet overwhelming, and it is, but it is also true. When a family member asked me how she could get started writing, I told her, “Just write.” Start by setting time aside each day. Julia Cameron, in her book The Artist’s Way, recommends setting aside 30 minutes each morning to write. Her plan maintains that you have to get those pesky random thoughts out of your head to allow the creativity to move more freely. I agree. I don’t think it has to be first thing in the morning, but at some point find 30 quiet, uninterrupted minutes to yourself to put pen to paper. And I mean that literally. Use a pen and paper. Whatever kind of pen and notebook works best for you, just use it. The physical act of writing is important for your brain. There is a real connection between your brain, your hand, and the paper. Do this writing everyday. That’s the magic. Practice writing every day. Protect that time. You deserve it.

What do I write about? That is totally up to you. There are lots of websites, books, newsletters, and places on Pinterest to find writing prompts if you need them. When I was teaching my students to set up their writer’s notebooks, we would spend the first few days of our writing time making up lists of things we could write about. Things like

• favorite vacation

• favorite childhood memory

• top 10 places you want to visit and why

• how you got your name or why you used a name for a pet or child

• favorite books/authors and why

• describe a moment that is important to you

• describe music or a piece of art in words

You get the idea. Keeping this list in the front of your notebook helps always have something to write about. This 30 minute writing time is stream of consciousness, don’t stop writing. Keep your hand moving even if you’re just making loopy marks. Get out of your head whatever you’re thinking and get it on the page. These pages are not for the purpose of becoming a novel or a book. This is you exercising the writing muscles. Like any athlete intent on becoming competitive or professional, you need practice. Writers need to practice as well. You can’t get better if you don’t work at it. Try different voices and perspectives in your writing. We’ll talk another time about using what’s in the notebook to craft a story or other piece of writing. The important point today is to get started.

There are several books that can help you get your writing journey started. I’ve already mentioned Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. She also has a similar title geared more for writers called The Right to Write: An Invitation and Initiation into the Writing Life. You don’t need both of these. Pick one or the other, doesn’t matter which. They’re very similar, the writing one is geared specifically for writers, but they use the same essential process. There is also Natalie Goldberg’s Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within. Some writers also recommend Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. There are many titles to choose from. Choose one or several or none, as you wish, but don’t let reading about writing stop you from doing the writing. You have to carve out the time and do it.

Finally, the most important piece of advice I can give you about writing is READ. Avi, one of my favorite children’s authors, said at a conference I attended once that if you want to be a writer you have to read, a lot. And when you’re done with all that reading you have to read some more. Nothing could be more true. Reading not only refills the well, but it allows you to notice how authors use language and craft narrative. It allows you to hear their voice and notice how they develop that. If you want to write in a particular genre, you must widely read in that genre. But also read other things you enjoy. Just because you’re interested in writing fiction doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read non-fiction. You definitely should if it interests you. Read. Read. Read.

Karen and I started writing together in March of this year for 45 minutes a day. I started my writing with her by doing my “morning pages” in my journal. Now with Tana, we write all day long, holding each other accountable for getting words on the page. If you start with that 30 minutes and stick to it, you will be working toward getting your first piece ready to publish. Good luck.

Happy writing.