That first blank page

Is there anything harder than getting a new story started? I find I will engage in just about every form of procrastination possible, this post included, before I actually get anything down on that first blank page. Does anyone else have this problem?

Yes, at times.

Other times I have too many ideas at once, but when comes to theme stories (Christmas, April's Fools, contest stories on a certain theme) I'm often stymied at first.

One thing I find that can help is to start typing, without an outline or knowing where the story is going. Just start with a sentence on the topic or a character related to it and see where it goes. Maybe start by describing the scene I want (a Christmas morning, sunset on a farm in the middle of nowhere, whatever) and then try to add characters.

Sometimes I end up with a story worth posting, many times I hit control-A followed by the delete button, but even when it goes nowhere trying can give me ideas that I can use in the next attempt. If I'm looking at a story saying "this isn't going in the right direction" it can mean that I now have an idea of that right direction, so can start again aiming for that.

Which reminds me - I really should start working on a Christmas story. Maybe a Halloween one (but it might be too late for that) or a mother's day one as well, but if I don't start that Christmas one soon before I know it it will be December and I'll be staring at a blinking cursor.

Goodgulf

Ah, I think that is a little bit sad, ChardT. Does it means you think of writing as a chore that has to be done? Writing, for me, is a favoured pastime. It's other stuff like housework and shopping that get left undone because I spend too much of my day writing.

I feel almost bereft when I finish a story. I just need to be writing something all the time! Lol. I do feel a sense of frustration though, if inspiration doesn't strike and I go a few days not knowing what to start on next.

Mini
Xxxix

Starting them is never a problem, but finishing them can be the difficult part for me. I have quite a few that are in various stages of completion. Sometimes, if the beginning seems tricky, I start in the middle and then go back.

I rarely find myself at a loss for what to write. I usually have a story mapped out pretty well in my head before I ever start typing. I think it's the mechanics of it that put me off. The spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, etc. That and just getting the pros to flow right. Anyway, I've got the thing going. Now I just have to find the time to keep it going. This one should be on the short side at least.

I've got a story which has been on the go for ages, but I have only written a few pages. It seems so hard to get it done. In wondering about why this is I thought that perhaps it is because I have not invested anything in the characters yet, and haven't got round to either liking them or otherwise.

Having said that the only real way to start liking one's characters is to write them more to fill them out as whole people, so there's no hope unless I actually do write something.

For me starting is never an issue. I generally have the bare bones of any story sketched out in my head before I start. I often have the whole thing written internally, it's just fleshing it out and filling in the blanks, it may change a little from my original idea by the time I'm done, but I've never had a problem with beginning one.

My spanking stories are the outcome of regular bouts of lascivious daydreaming. Fantasies come naturally to most of us, and then it's just a matter of filtering them through the keyboard. Once in a while, I hit a gap that's hard to get past or a passage that doesn't ring true and needs to be fixed, but the basic narrative has already been worked out in my perverted imagination.

The first page usually works out OK, but my problem is the second one. The reason probably is that I have normally worked out the first page in detail in my head before I start writing - I know the main characters, I have found the narrator's voice, I have already formulated some of the key sentences etc. I also have clear idea of the the main action - who is going to be spanked and why. The problem with the second page (or thereabouts) is that it is usually a bridge between the introduction and the action, and I often find it difficult (and quite boring) to write this part in such a way that it seems neither dull nor contrived.

I've been trying to finish a couple of different stories for a while and have been unable to force myself to finalize them or show them to anyone, perhaps for fear of being judged. I'm fairly certain that if I ever finish these two, the theme of my next story will be-- procrastination-- but I'm avoiding even starting that one.