Myth #1: Starting is easy for writers

I’d like to share a series of common writing myths and the humorous ways I’ve tried to help non-writing friends and acquaintances understand what I do a little better.

Case in point. At church on Sunday, a friend told me how much he would like to write a story.

Me: Everyone has a story to tell.

Friend: I just wouldn’t know where to start.

Me: Starting is hard.

Friend: How do you start? How do you know where to start?

Me: I sometimes write multiple introductions until I decide what works best. It’s hard for me too.

Friend: Ha, ha, you’re just kidding.

*Sigh* I wish I were.

Starting anything – a new job, a new school – is hard. Starting a new story is no different – even for those of us who have written and published books.

Dear reader, if you think writers have some special gene that makes the words flow from the tips of our fingers magically onto the document on our screen, well, we don’t. We call ourselves writers because we keep at the occupation long enough that we don’t know what else to call ourselves.

And we love it. Really, we do. Most of the time.