2 Unconventional Tips for Starting Any Writing Project

If you have any experience in writing, you will understand me when I say that sometimes you have to stop and listen to what you have written. 

For academics, especially, we can fall into the habit of mashing and smashing words into a page to MAKE. THEM. FIT. *exasperated sigh*

But words, stories, and even written reports are, if you will permit me, alive and not easily bullied into existence. 

When we ask ourselves and our students to take a step back from writing before continuing to proofread or make additions or revisions, what we're really saying is that we need to listen to what we've written and ask ourselves 1) if what we hear is what we meant to say and 2) whether our writing is giving us hints as to where to go next with our project. 

But what if you struggle to put words on a page in the first place? What if you find yourself staring at a blank page attempting to divine some sort of message from beyond about how to even begin your writing project? 

How do you listen to your writing before you've put pen to paper?

Keep Your Inspiration Close at Hand

If you're sitting in front of a blank sheet of paper or a blank screen frustrated that you cannot seem to find a way to begin your project, I'm going to assume that something has inspired the content of what you are about to write. 

What is that inspiration? A book you read recently? A photograph? A conversation you overheard? A cause? A news article?

Kurt Vonnegut mug (thank you, Brother!), novel notebook,
and the picture that first inspired The Translator

Whatever it was that made you sit down and think, "This is what I'm going to write about," have that close at hand. 

The photograph that gave me the idea for The Translator sits framed on my desk. I've been known to take it with me when I write in other locations. I also have a copy of my father's end of tour report for his Volunteer Physicians for Vietnam position. That hangs just behind me in my office. 

When I work on my PhD and other academic or policy writing projects, I have news reports and pictures from the field that keep me working, keep me pushing to think deeper and write clearer. When I remember that the substantive focus of my research is often the reality of others, I am inspired to start writing from that place of purpose and urgency. 

Sometimes, just by having inspiring images and stories around you, you will hear what it is about those things that makes you want to write and that is where you start.

Don't Always Start at the Beginning

When you tell someone a story out loud, how do you go about doing so? Do you start with the punch-line? Do you provide an exorbitant amount of background information before you begin? Do you introduce the lesson or theme first?

Now, when you're writing, how do you begin? 

Most of us will admit that, more often than not, we start writing with the introductory sentence. Then we muddle through the beginning paragraphs, careful not to stuff them with too much information, but cognizant of any lagging that might occur. 

And then we obsess over those first few pages that we begin to lose our direction. This often leads to abandoned projects or, in the case of academic writing, really sloppy drafts.

Try this:

Start at the end. Or, start at a point (be it a scene, or an argument, or other aspect of your project) that you find particularly interesting about what you are writing. 

Read this. Seriously.

Just write it down. And keep writing until you start to hear the story unfold. You may gain greater insight into what is necessary in your introduction or first chapters. If you begin in the middle, you may find that you can assess what needs to happen before your pivotal point and what must necessarily come after.

In the First William Morrow Deluxe Modern Classic Edition (2014) of John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany, the author describes his process of beginning a novel with the end in mind. It is only after he understands how the book will end that John Irving writes a killer first sentence that is both intriguing and relevant to the entire novel. 

However you choose to begin your writing project, remember that the best way to stick with that project is to trust in your process. By honoring your own writing process and allowing yourself to find your own method of writing, you will not only produce better writing, but you will find yourself striving to see these projects through to completion. 

Happy writing!