#54 - Writing hacks (hacks for writing) Part 1: Starting

By Scott Berkun, Aug. 28 2006

Writing is easy, it’s quality that’s hard. Any idiot who knows 5 words can write a sentence (e.g. “Dufus big much Scott is”). It might be grammarless, broken, or inaccurate but it is writing. This means that when people can’t start they’re imagining the precision of the end, all polished and brilliant, a vision that makes the ugly clumsy junkyard that all beginnings are, impossible to accept. Good voice, tone, rhythm, ideas and grammar are essential to good writing, but they’re never introduced all at once. I promise you, the first draft of Strunk and White didn’t follow Strunk and White. The secret, if you can’t start, is to begin without constraints. Deliberately write badly, but write.

For this reason writer’s block is a sham. Anyone who wrote yesterday can write today, it’s just a question of if they can do it to their own satisfaction. It’s not the fear of writing that blocks people, it’s fear of not writing well; something quite different. Certainly every writer has moments of paralysis, but the way out is to properly frame what’s going on, and writer’s block, as commonly misunderstood, is a red herring.

Consider this: Have you ever been blocked while playing Frisbee? Eating doughnuts? Dancing naked in your living room? Those are joyful things and there’s nothing at stake: if you fail, who cares? Nobody. If there are no rules, and no judgment, psychological blocks are impossible. And remember writers like making names and overthinking things: there is no term for architect-block, painter-block, juggler-block or composer-block. Every creative pursuit faces similar pressures, but they don’t obsess about it the way writers seem to do.

So play. Loosen up. Smile. Break the framework that’s making it impossible to start. Forget the deadline and the assignment and just be an open mind with a pen. Remember that until you say you’re finished, you can break all the rules. If you can’t get started, your psychology is making the challenge bigger than you can handle. Thinking of the book, the chapter, the page, the paragraph, is all too big if while you’re thinking, the page remains blank. Like a weightlifter out of his class, a writer with a blank page needs to lighten the load.

Writing hacks for starting

In the grand tradition of lists and books of hacks, writing hacks are clever little actions that give you leverage and put the dynamics in your favor. Here in part 1 it’s all about how to start.

Start with a word. The first goal is to get one word on the page. It can be any word, but you have to choose it, and put it down. I’m partial to the ridiculous[1], so for me it’s often Papaya, Pomegranate or Throat-warbler-man-grove (If you’re thinking that’s not a word, go back two paragraphs). If one word was easy, go for two. Still feeling lucky? Go for a small sentence. It doesn’t matter what the words are, but get them down. Write the lyrics to the song on the radio, the names of people you’ve slept with, your favorite Dr. Seuss lines, it just doesn’t matter. Once all the magic muscles in your little fingers get going, you’ll soon find yourself, in between rounds of one fish blue fish, writing some intelligent things. If it peters out, repeat. Return to the unit of writing anyone can do, and build up again.

Write about how it feels not to be able to write. It’s sneaky, but damn, it works. The voice in our heads is always saying something, so get it down. Writer-weenies call this free writing, implying something unfortunate about other kinds of writing, but I find it easier to think of as listening. Imagine yourself as a recording device, writing down the radio broadcast of some other person who happens to live in your head. If you think this is weird, write about why it’s weird (See: you can’t win. There’s always a way). Eventually your mind will hit thoughts on the topic itself and, presto, you’re on your way.

Have a conversation. Since you can’t get "converse with a friend” block call up your buddy and talk. Get their opinions on whatever you’re writing, or throw them a bit of yours. Take notes about the conversation. Guess what? You’ve started writing. Friends are too busy? Go to a café or bar. I’ve found that if you tell bartenders you’re a writer, after they stop laughing, they’ll happily chat and occasionally give you free drinks. In a pinch, or if you’re a loner, talk with your dog. No dog? Create an imaginary friend (or three). Perhaps I’m insane, but I talk to myself all the time, and sometimes I even like the answers. If you know a writer friend, be writer buddies, available by phone to help each other get started.

Read something you hate. Opinions come easy to me, but some days I’m as indifferent as the wind. To get started I’ll read things that I can’t stand, express opinions in violent opposition to mine[2] and, when pressed, are written so poorly my eyes burn straight through the pages. A paragraph of outstanding tripe is intellectual smelling salts. It puts me on my feet, sticking and jabbing like Mohammed Ali, raving and ranting on the page. I can rarely use those first rant-laden riffs, but it puts me in the ring. Sometimes its love you need, so go to your masters: Emerson, Fitzgerald, Orwell, King, get your nose into whoever’s writing get you jazzed. Writers often write about writing[3], a trick few arts can follow; so reflective motivation from writers is easy to find.

Warm up. Do you imagine Olympic sprinters wake up and immediately sprint around the house? Of course not (unless they drank too much the night before). No one performs well without easing muscles and emotions into place. And everyone warms up differently. Sometimes responding to e-mail works because hey, that’s a kind of writing. Or type the alphabet forwards and backwards. Maybe revise something old and unfinished to get warm. My ritual is to type in quotes from good books I’ve read to get the fingers in rhythm and my mind thinking good writer thoughts. More exercises here and here.

Make lists. Nonfiction often starts for me as bulleted lists. I imagine what things the finished work would answer, how it would do it and I write it down. Not that I know how to fill them, but what might good section headings be? List making is never as threatening as “writing”, so go there first (There is no shopping list block, is there?). I kick the list around for awhile, changing, moving, shuffling, and then once it has critical mass, I put in a document and go. And I’m always ready to leave the list, and my plan behind, if I find a sweet spot: the list is a tool, not a contract. I have dozens of essay ideas in various states of list form, in a Moleskine, slowly growing until they’re ready.

Switch to something harder. My wife is an artist, and for years she’s worked on two paintings at the same time, switching between them. Why? When she’s hit a wall on one project, the second project is a godsend: it’s an escape that’s still productive. I use this hack as follows: when stuck on project A, including not being able to start, I’ll joyfully switch to project B, thinking I’m pulling one over (on myself of course, but even the idiocy of self-delusion is tolerable to the acid misery of returning to A). But 20 minutes later when I hit a wall on Project B, a wall that, by comparison, seems like the Maginot line, I’m more than happy to return to A, even if it’s a blank page. I’ve forgotten A’s particular horrors, and jump in, possibly over the hurdle that seemed impossible before.

Run like hell. I can’t write if my body isn’t happy and my body feels happy when it has been used: it likes to run or lift or almost anything. So think physical: let your body get out the stresses that block your mind. Go for a run, mow the lawn, chase your cat, do something to get your body moving, and your mind relaxed. If you move your body, your mind will follow. Maybe take a bath, get a massage, have sex, anything physical and positive. If you get into the activity enough I bet you’ll have a moment when your body is finally happy enough to let your mind do its work.

Whiskey. Yes, alcohol is writing’s seductive little mistress. A well timed shot of whiskey can work wonders for the jittery, neurotic mind. It’s the shock to the system that works for me, so when I can’t start, there are alcohol free alternatives to get things flowing: a cold shower, an underwear clad run up the driveway, a shot of espresso, a peek at my naked wife, the list goes on. Don’t depend on these (as the more you use, the less they work, except for the last one), but occasionally they’re the only way.

Rummage your scrap pile. In 1994 I started writing a novel[4]. By this I mean I created a word document named “My Novel”, hit save and then got drunk with friends. The next day, terrified as I was to return, I created a second document, called “My Novel – notes”. And in there I wrote down every idea that came to me about what might be in the novel. Only had one at first (“The narrator gets drunk. And then…well…hmmm”) but more came the next day. It was a hard core rule: If I had any idea at any time, I wrote it down immediately. No exceptions (Thus, the moleskine). I’d think of snippets of dialog, lines of narrative, names for characters, or bits of plot, and stick them in, rarely looking at the previous bits. Eventually I had enough material to psyche myself up for the dive back into “My novel” as it wasn’t a blank page anymore.

Smart writers have stockpiles of old ideas to arm themselves against the evils of the blank page. When stuck, rummage. Laugh at the goofy ideas. Groan at the pretentious ones (there will be many). Feel the occasional awe of not remembering writing something that shines or happens to fits your blank page. Like a flea market or garage sale, let ideas feel cheap, light and easy to throw around. If you can do that, new work will get off the ground almost on its own.

Notes
[1] I sometimes write “I have nothing to say” and repeat it on the page. I’ll go and go until I get so pissed off that I decide it’s less painful to write something real than it is to watch myself type this idiotic phrase forever. We always have something to say: we’re just not always brave enough to say it. A little self torture can sometimes bring it out.

[2] True story. This essay started when someone sent me a link to this essay on When you can’t get started, which you might like, but I had trouble with. Halfway through I had so many ideas I jumped into a blank page and didn’t stop until I had a draft of much of this essay. Mind you, as a writer I know this subject well, and had done plenty of thinking on this topic beforehand.

[3] By the act of writing “writers often write about writing” I’m writing about writers often writing about writing, which means you’re reading about writing about writers writing about writing. Say that ten times fast and I’ll give you a cookie.

[4] I wrote the novel on and off for 10 years, and finished in 2005 (with draft #5). Currently unpublished.

References
I thought for sure there would be many essays titled "writing hacks" but I only found one. Most links are to things about writing code hacks.


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44 Responses

  • Kristi - October 17th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

    I can’t even begin to tell you how inspiring this was to read. And I am slightly jealous that it was so basic I couldn’t think of it on my own LOL. Seriously. This is exactly what I needed to read!

  • Bryce - October 30th, 2008 at 11:33 pm

    I am glad I stumbled upon this website. I’ve been trying to write something for over a year now. For starters, you revitalized the basics that I’ve forgetten about. Secondly, you gave me more ammo to ward off the bugs of the novelnamekon, a monster that kills ideas before they reach the page. Thank you…

  • Sarah - November 9th, 2008 at 2:28 am

    Wow! This is neat. It’s so refreshing to read something like this. Ever since I can remember I have always written everything! I just love to write! To fill pages with my words! I get so excited looking at paper when I have a pen in my hand! I would like to attempt at writing SOMETHING but am often discouraged at my inexperience (I just wrote my first term paper this past semester in highschool) and my youth. Thanks for the big whiff of motivation again!

  • Jonathan - November 12th, 2008 at 7:38 am

    Scott,
    Thanks. I just began my sabbatical (laid-off from full time employment). I want to take time to write my book.

    One search and I found your site. Thanks for sharing. I’ll begin documenting my experiment of writing my book kindly following your guidance. - Jonathan

  • Evan - November 19th, 2008 at 9:23 pm

    Scott,

    I have been stuck on this idea for about a year for a book. I found this site, wandering around, and look what I found! You gave me hope and a grim outcome for my love of writing. I don’t care if it never gets published or if it does and only 30 people read it, I’ll think of it as a challenge completed.

    You gave me hope, Evan

  • diego - November 22nd, 2008 at 9:06 am

    Oh my God, thanks I am writting again!!!

  • Hilda - December 4th, 2008 at 6:06 pm

    Scott,
    guess what?i have been able to repeat that for the ten times mentioned,even faster. Pls i need my cookie!hehe!! A very wonderful and encouraging page.thanks dearly.

  • Deshawn Gaines - December 6th, 2008 at 10:07 am

    lucky for me I got to read this while im in highschool which i would say gives me a head start. Im glad I have the experience to read this now, we gonna see how far can i take my career.

    remember the name Deshawn Gaines its gonna be famous

  • D.L. Johnson - December 17th, 2008 at 12:07 am

    Idk how i managed to stumble onto this site. But I can’t begin to but inton words how motivational, inspirational & encourageing reading through it has been. You’ve given me help with clearing out all of those mental roads blocks that have kept me from writing for years.

  • sharon McMahon - January 4th, 2009 at 9:22 am

    now i don’t usually use my real name but for you i decided to make and exception. Being exceptional, i like that idea of not worryingly remotely as to whether your writeing or spelling or such is remotely correct grammatically or otherwise as mine often isn’t you may already heve noticed.
    writing this comment which i am now wondering how long is a comment suppose to be anyway?? i could commment from here to kingdomkom. This comment buisess is a clever way of avoiding walking to
    the bag in the kitchen with the little green book in
    it. i am starting to suspect that a comment is not really much longer that this.
    soon to be reconciled with my little green book.
    Do the colours of your note books influence how much or how good the things are that you write in them? Orange seems to have been my most successful to date. Now looking for orange wrapping paper.

  • Abid Virani - January 10th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

    Thanks, I have a feeling today is going to be a great day…
    I’m beginning to make a list!

    Abid

  • sd - February 8th, 2009 at 9:14 am

    Great piece. Your reference in the Notes section (1)where you say you sometimes write “I have nothing to say” over and over reminds me of a scene from “The Shining”. The main character, Jack, has pages and pages of his “book” he has been working on stacked next to the typewriter. When his wife stops to read what he has written all the pages are filled with “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” She realizes Jack has gone insane… I think I’ll start with the whiskey suggestion.

  • Mags - February 13th, 2009 at 3:40 am

    Great article - thank you for writing it! Very useful.

  • johney - February 21st, 2009 at 11:41 am

    I’ve been trying to write the same book for over 5 years(half my life),and I have seen millions of blogs saying the same thing:make a schedule to write a good book, but it has gotten me nowhere and this blog is the first that I can truly relate to. So thank you.
    Sinceraly,Johney.

  • amber - February 27th, 2009 at 6:57 pm

    i appreciate your insight and advice. it is particularly helpful as i am struggling to write my own story and have no idea how to begin. while i can appreciate your point of view, i still question a few of your statements as they relate to my position. i realize that perhaps you are generalizing; but personally, when i ask how you write a book i am desperately seeking advice on how to put it together. my mother pulled me out of school after the 6th grade and i truly have no experience whatsoever in writing reports or any form of structured verse. the other reason i ask is because i would appreciate the one-on-one interaction regarding something that is truly meaningful to me, something for which i have a passion.

    what i have learned to date has been self-taught. i was cut off from outside communications while moving through the teenage years with only a few ‘approved’ friends. unfortunately, i have since moved into a marriage that is a repeat of my past. writing is my escape and my passion, especially while i seek an escape. it is my singular form of communication outside my family circle…so should i ask you, ‘how does one write a book?’, i truly am hoping for a discussion with someone who may have knowledge that i am desperately hoping to gain through human contact and perhaps someone who shares my passion for the written word.

    thank you for sharing your thoughts.

  • Lisa - March 1st, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    I learned so much from all your information on here. I want to thank you for sharing & helping so many of us who are needing to write a book. I am just starting my own life story that needs to be told. I have a large expandable file folder to help me be organized with all the information from notes & timelines…..I really appreciate your time & information, thank you again!!

    L.Haddeland
    Minot, ND

  • randall williams - March 5th, 2009 at 12:13 am

    dear Scott,
    the info on writing a book was just what i was looking for .so all that you share with others was very beneficial to me .even though I’m not famous ,i was encouraged to write about my life because of the abuse that i endured as a little boy and the drugs and the alcohol that came later on in my life and how i somehow survived it all.
    I’m going to title my book,”an angel”.she was a girl that that made some sense or some normalcy out my life when there was none and I’m hoping that what i have to write about ,maybe the writing will relate to someone and maybe change their life .
    i just wanted to thank for all the info you have shared .
    yours truly,randall

  • Jeddidiah - March 28th, 2009 at 1:50 pm

    Wow, now THIS i call somthing good for reads! Thanks!

  • Preston Brown - April 11th, 2009 at 3:33 am

    Scott,
    Thank you very much for this very informative work of art. After reading this you really got me thinking about so much that I never thought about before. Writer’s block was something I always had trouble with, but the ideas you have written on here make me feel as though writer’s block is an easy obstacle to get past now. Once again, thank you so much. You truly are an inspiration.
    -Preston

  • Chance - April 12th, 2009 at 10:28 pm

    Scott,

    You are truly an inspiration to those around you. Look at all the positive comments sent to you, because it is obvious you know what you’re doing. I myself am about to graduate from high school and have been writing two books off and on, but then switched to poetry because I didn’t know what to do in my time of need (not saying my poetry is shit, because its actually pretty damn good) and this is exactly what I needed to see. Thank you for all your work, and I hope to be reading more from you in the future.

    -Chance

  • cait - April 25th, 2009 at 7:57 am

    hey, that’s awesome! i alsways just get stuck because i can’t please myself–but it’s a good idea to write whatever you think of first!

  • Rikk - May 24th, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    These are truly some encouraging words, I thank you!!. for a couple of years I have had this crazy idea of witting a book. I am not writer, I don’t even have the slightest idea of how to begin writing let alone completing a book but funny–I can think about writing, I can write about thinking about writing. You just brought it down to my level. I will start not with the end in mind but with the beginning.

  • CsW - June 4th, 2009 at 8:31 am

    Very nice article.
    I often find myself being a perfectionist when attempting to write, so I’m sure these tips will come in handy in the future…

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