Start Your Story… Now

You click back onto the blank page.

“Hey,” you say to yourself, “now would be a great time to actually write that first chapter.” You grin at yourself, feeling proud for taking such a step, and open the window on your computer. You take one deep breath and stare at the blinking curser.

And stare.

Your eyes glaze over.

You finally write one sentence.

Oof, that’s bad. You highlight it, erase it. 

Start again.

You stare for a little bit more, try three more times, and finally you groan and hit the erase button.

You come back to it the next day but your vigor is lacking.

This time, you don’t even try.

You just can’t. A week passes, a month, a year and that blank page is still there.

The Problem Behind the Doubt

You need help.

Very blunt, I know, but it is true. I’ve been there, trust me. I am confident in the fact that 99.99% of writers face the ‘blank page problem’ more often than not. The other brilliant 00.01%… well, let’s just applaud them right now and gasp in awe.

But what about the popular writers? What about the ones who knock out two books a year and then can relax on the beach in Hawaii reading novels because they have nothing else to do? How did they get there?

Now, I’m not going to show you how to get tickets to Hawaii, but I will show you how to face your blank page head-on and keeping going. Those who try to face that blank page but don’t have key tools to make words appear, will not make it in the writing world. That’s just a fact.

I can’t make words magically appear for you on the page. I wish I could.

However, I can give you one thing.

A plan. 

Why Planning Changed My Writing Life

Pantsers, don’t run away screaming. Plotters *smirks*, enjoy. 

I can clearly say that planning changed my whole writing life and turned it upside down. I’m not talking about outlining and having special binders for every different thing while that CAN be helpful.

A plan is simply a way that will help you accomplish your writing goals.

Whether you are working on a novel or a short story, there is a tried and true way to get it done fast. Also, you can tweak and use this plan to suit your own purposes so don’t take it for the final word. Basically, salt to taste.

Planning kept me from going to that blank page when I thought I had nothing to write about. Planning kept me from coming with a great story idea and then dropping it just because I had no development. Planning is still making me a better writer than I was yesterday.

The First Few Steps

So how do I start my story now with a plan? I want to welcome you, faithful writer, to start your story now. I am creating a series for on my New Writer’s page to help you make your author dreams into reality. I will be giving you a step-by-step process to accomplish your story. We are going to cover things such as: finding your perfect story idea, creating heart-throb characters, fixing your plot till it’s just right, outlining, creating a sustainable writing habit, developing your writing skills, and lot’s more! Check out my next post What If You Started Your Story Today and find out that perfect story idea that you’ve been waiting for.

I’m so excited to go on this journey with you! Please comment below asking questions or commenting what you thinking of planning. Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? Remember to subscribe so you can get more tidbits, articles, and advice to get your story on the page and change lives one story at a time.