all good things must begin: notes on writing
Sometimes I ask myself: Why do I write? I try to perpetuate the initial vision I had when I first starting writing, so I don't forget the why's and the how's. I write to dream, to connect, to clarify and record. But I still think Sylvia Path succinctly worded it best: I write only because there is a voice within me that will not be still. We have to emit that voice, set it free, someway, somehow.
Every time I am starting a new project, take a blogpost on Bear, fear stifles me. What if I don't produce something satisfactory this time? What if I lose my magic? Sometimes I try to escape writing, but I only end up enraging my true nature of being a writer, and I realize the urgency of returning to my craft, sooner or later.
To negate this ambiguity, I've been finding it helpful to cultivate a mindset of finality when it comes to writing. Write as if this were your last blogpost, your last journal entry, your last book. Put everything, and don't fear being left with nothing. If it were your last piece, wouldn't you give it your all? Wouldn't you set aside the fear and start?
Whenever I feel uninspired, stuck, or fearful, I take comfort in the fact that even the greatest of writers need to propel themselves to write sometimes. Take Octavia Butler, for example, acclaimed sci-fi writer. Across her journals and lined notebooks, she adopted the habit of motivating herself through positive affirmations and held accountability through demanding schedules to fulfill these dreams:
All good things must begin, she wrote in one of her journals. A good blogpost, book, entry - you must begin somewhere. You must write.