A Writer's Notebook, Day One-Thousand-Four-Hundred-And-Forty-Three

I began work on a new prose piece tonight, one that I think might be topical, if I can get it together.  To be honest, I am having difficulty getting my ideas flowing, but I began with a sort of overview, a broader perspective than I intend to focus on, and ideas that are more widely discussed than the specifics I plan to draw out.  It may be that I won't need that part of the piece when I get through it, but it helped to orient me and I think that I will be able to jump into more of the stuff I want to say when I get back to work on it tomorrow.  I often find that is the best approach for me with any kind of writing.  Beginning can feel so overwhelming and intimidating, and when you have a clear idea of what you want to say, it is often not an idea that feels easy to just jump into.  Often it seems important to have a starting point first so you can lead in to that subject and that introduction is not necessarily clear just because the other ideas are ready.  One of the lessons of writing so much is the recognition that any first line is a way to start, even if it is not ideal.  It may just be that it is a place to begin, a mark on the page that banishes its blankness.

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