A Writer's Worry

We worry often and usually from day one. Our worrying begins when the blank page stares at us and dares us to scrawl or type an opening sentence, paragraph and/or page that will hook our readers.

Tentatively we type a word, then delete it and start again.

We worry about how to begin, where to begin and when to begin.

Do we start with an ominous sentence?

We consider it, because then our readers worry about our protagonist and are therefore inclined to want to read more.

Wait. Hmm…perhaps we should begin with a sentence that displays our mastery of prose.

No, there’s no time for that. We have to hook our readers immediately and can’t risk having them lose interest while we describe the way the sun spills over the horizon.

Do we begin mid-moment, when our main character is running for her/his life?

There’s a plethora of alternatives and an infinite number of ways that we may word such circumstances.

Upon crossing that threshold into our make-believe world, we worry about what we’ll do next! Sometimes we will take a few tentative steps along that journey until we find our rhythm and lunge into a sprint of storytelling.

We’ll write a few chapters, following the path paved by our characters then suddenly we will feel lost.

“Where are we?”

“How did we get here?”

Abandoned, we begin to feel doubt and wonder what we’ll do next. We worry that our story has lost its excitement and worry that it isn’t interesting enough. We question ourselves and wonder: “Will anyone even want to read this?”

Our worrying hinders our progress and ushers in that thief of creative thesis, Writer’s Block!

After a few days, weeks or even months of thunderous silence, we begin to worry if we will ever recapture our momentum. And when our imaginary friends offer no hint of returning, we worry if we will ever finish our story.

Quit worrying, my friends! Shed that robe and pick up that pen -or keyboard- and get back to doing telling your story.

Read –see previous post "Write, Write, Write...Right?" AND Write. Allow your mind to relax in order to find clarity and allow the winds of inspiration to linger through the valleys of your imagination.

In the end, you’ll reflect on it and admit that you did all that worrying for nothing.

“Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed!” Abraham Lincoln