nanowrimo:

For some writers, September means the start of meticulously planning out what they’re going to write in November. For some pantsers, even thinking about writing is still months away. But no matter what your writing style is, just starting anything can be the hardest part. Today, writer Rosario Martinez shares some words of wisdom about beginnings:

You want to write a story. It’s the story that’s been there in the back of your mind. The one you’ve frequently thought about writing down, the one you thought you’d never get to tell. Until one day, poof! There it is, like a shiny new pencil. Quickly gather your notebook—a new one that you’ve assigned for this occasion. You might already have a couple notebooks that you’ve gathered over the years for this exact moment. All those empty pages hiding away the hundreds of possibilities. All the stories. All of them just waiting for you to sit down and write.

The real beginning—the part before the story ever starts—is where we as writers have to condition ourselves to write. Perhaps not everyday, but at least thinking about writing constantly, is the hardest part. 

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