Simply by making the effort to start something, you will be miles ahead of almost everyone else.
If you criticize what you’re doing too early you’ll never write the first line.
I had support - I had started it, not to forget.
Starting is hard so I really need to give myself permission to do a bad job. I always give myself leave to write total nonsense for as long as I need to release the pressure, because it's really hard to start if you feel like that first sentence you write has to actually mean something.
I think any start has to be a false start because really there’s no way to start. You just have to force yourself to sit down and turn off the quality censor. And you have to keep the censor off, or you start second-guessing every other sentence. Sometimes the suspicion of a possible false start comes through, and you have to suppress it to keep writing. But it gets more persistent. And the moment you know it’s really a false start is when you start … it’s hard to put into words.
Getting a project started is like moving a ship. It takes a lot of energy to build up momentum.
The great things you intend to do some time must have a beginning if they are ever to be done, so begin something worthwhile today.
One, don't wait for inspiration, just start the damned thing. Two, once you begin, keep on until the end. How do you know how the story should begin until you find out where it's going?
If beginnings terrify you, or if you just plain don't like writing them, or if they bore you, skip 'em.
