How to Begin

Sometimes I'm asked how I begin a poem or a story. It's as Annie Dillard says in her book The Writing Life (a book I highly recommend) that one line drops from the sky, and then like sculptors we chisel around it. I've referenced this little passage from her book many times, because that is how it happens for me. Often when I'm driving, I'll be struck by an image or a phrase and either I scramble for paper and a pen at red lights or I repeat it to myself all the way home so as not to forget it.  

Early on in my career, I stressed over when those moments would come. I felt that the moments when inspiration struck were few and far between. That's because I hadn't trained myself to be aware of those brief passing flashes of inspiration, and more importantly I didn't know how to follow through with them.

Following through with this bits of inspiration takes persistence, not even a whole chunk of time, but persistence. The most recent project I've been working on has been a short story. I flashed on the first line "I wore a spit up stain on my blouse, the day my boss called me into his office." Now, that's not an entire story. It doesn't even hint at what the entire story will be about. I had no idea what would come of it, but I committed to the line and committed to giving myself a couple hours on Saturday and Sunday morning (crediting fiction writer Katrina Kittle for that piece of wonderful advice) and after a few weeks I had a completed draft of a short story. 

If that makes it sound too easy, well it is remarkably that easy. There's no magic formula. Remember, too, that a completed draft is not a completed story. It's a draft. There will be many revisions, which takes more chunks of time. It doesn't have to be an entire day, though. It can be 15 minute or half hour increments. I know from where I speak. I work full time, have two children, two cats and a dog. In short, I'm a busy gal, but I make time to write and revise.

My assignment then is for you to listen for those lines, perhaps write 10 or more down. Choose the one that you feel drawn to and commit to it. Give yourself the okay to write it in increments. You don't have to write the entire story in one sitting. Also, give yourself the okay to write whatever comes without editing too much. Remember, the editing will come with the revisions. Now, follow through with it!