The one piece of writing advice I have for the stuck and un-started

Just start typing. Anything. See where it takes you.

It’s how I begin the writing process and also how I power through writer’s block.

It might help you too so let me expand on what I mean.

Say your mind is blank and you have no idea what you want to express.

The mechanical action of pushing the keys or looping your pen to form characters on the page fires up synapses all of us have triggered for most of our lives when we write, type, text or communicate.

For now, the words themselves don’t matter – this stream of consciousness outpour might be complete gobbledegook.

And even without a shred of expectation or a single rule holding you back, you might still stumble and stutter.

But as you press on, you string a few more words together before faltering. Then a few more.

And eventually there’s this wonderful sense of flow and the sentences tumble out.

You see this sentence here?

I had to start again.

WhatsApp pinged – my Mum messaged me to confirm a time for some plans and I caved to the twitch and unlocked my mobile phone.

But we go again. And again.

And the more we put our behinds in the seat and sit down to write, the deeper we carve the groove of our habit until it feels just as natural as the everyday gestures we never need to think about.

You may type 20 words or 2,000 before you start writing the content you eventually keep or share.

And that’s why this stage is so much fun.

There is literally no pressure.

What was an intimidating blank page staring you down with the overwhelming pressure of trying to write the perfect first sentence instead becomes a playground where spontaneity and a total lack of inhibitions empowers us to pirouette wherever we feel like going.

You see, I have a confession.

I didn’t want to write this blog post today.

I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to write about, so I was on the verge of using that as an excuse to not even try.

I felt utterly exhausted after a long day lifting and shifting in the garden.

But when I stood back from these very real situations, I reminded myself of advice I have fallen back on many times when I need or want to write but struggle.

Just. Start. Typing.

Even if the words are nonsense.

Even if you delete the whole damn document.

You are hacking your brain and short circuiting the creative process.

And, like I did today, you may find your freeform writing takes you somewhere wholly unexpected and thoroughly enjoyable along the way.

You might create something totally unplanned, cradling this idea out of the rich loamy soils of your mind without realising it was there – just below the surface.

I hope you found this glimpse into my writing process helpful and that maybe it gives you a tool that propels you past a patch of writer’s block or kickstarts your writing when you’re feeling paralysed by trying to write the perfect first sentence.

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