Let’s not sugarcoat it: starting is the hardest part. The moment you decide to finally sit down and write—whether it’s a term paper, blog post, or personal essay—some invisible wall seems to rise up out of nowhere.
Suddenly, you’re thirsty. You remember your laundry. You wonder if your desk is too messy. You spiral.
Sound familiar?
If so, welcome. You’re not alone. Starting is where most writers lose the battle—not because they’re lazy or unmotivated, but because writing is vulnerable and uncertain. And our brains hate uncertainty.
But here’s the twist: you don’t have to feel ready to write. You just have to start anyway.
Waiting for Motivation? Don’t.
Motivation is flaky. It shows up late and leaves early. If you wait to feel inspired or ready, you’ll stay stuck.
Instead of waiting for the perfect mood or the “right time,” try this:
Lower the bar. A lot.
Tell yourself you’re going to write one sentence. Just one. That’s it. Often, that tiny start is enough to trick your brain into pushing past the wall.
Still resisting? Set a timer for 5 minutes and freewrite. Doesn’t matter if it’s nonsense. Just write anything. You’re not writing a masterpiece—you’re warming up.
The Myth of the Perfect First Sentence
Spoiler alert: you’re probably going to rewrite your opening anyway.
Trying to craft the perfect first sentence is like trying to win a marathon in the first step. You can’t. That sentence only comes into focus after you’ve written the messy middle stuff.
So skip the pressure. Start anywhere.
Write the part you’re excited about. The line you keep thinking in your head. A random paragraph that might end up in the middle. It doesn’t matter—just get it down.
Still Can’t Start? Talk Instead
Here’s a trick I use all the time: pretend you’re explaining your idea to a friend.
Literally say it out loud. Imagine someone asked you, “So what’s this thing you’re writing about?” and you just casually explain it.
Then write that down. It’ll sound more natural, more direct, and way less forced.
Structure Comes Later
One reason people freeze at the start is because they’re trying to organize everything perfectly before they’ve written anything.
That’s backward.
Write first. Structure second.
You can’t rearrange what doesn’t exist. So focus on creating a pile of clay before you try sculpting. Once you’ve dumped your thoughts onto the page—even if they’re messy—you’ll start to see the shape.
But What If I Write Crap?
You probably will. At least at first. That’s part of it.
Writing isn’t about avoiding bad drafts—it’s about writing through them. Your job isn’t to get it right the first time. Your job is to get something on the page so you can fix it later.
The biggest difference between people who write and people who don’t? One group keeps going, even when it sucks.
Some Honest, Unfiltered Advice
- Write like nobody’s reading. At first, they aren’t. Give yourself permission to be messy, weird, and real.
- Stop multitasking. Writing needs focus. If your brain is split between writing and checking your phone, you’re sabotaging yourself.
- Give it a container. “Write something” is vague. But “Write 300 words before 10:00 AM” is doable.
- Reward yourself. Brains love incentives. Promise yourself coffee, a nap, a walk—whatever works.
The Takeaway
You don’t need confidence to start writing. You need courage.
The courage to write something bad. The courage to keep going when your ideas feel thin. The courage to start when you’re not ready—because you probably never will be.
But once you start? That’s when the good stuff finally begins to show up.
