We all need a little help getting started sometimes.  Getting started can be the hardest part.  Coming up with the grand life-changing idea is the easy part.  I shared in The Hardest Part of Writing how I encourage those having a hard time writing to commit to writing a warm-up paragraph.

I practice what I post so I churn out a few warm-up paragraphs when I have a hard time writing.  I just showed my daughter Macey one of my warm-up paragraphs.  We were talking about writing posts and she suggested I plan ahead and write out a few topics (smart kid).

Ok fine.  I’ll show you the warm-up paragraph (they aren’t supposed to be edited or thought out, just start writing):

Hello and good morning one and all and welcome to the show.  The show where I attempt a magnificent leap into the unknown of today.  This first attempt will be difficult considering the coffee hasn’t completely entered my bloodstream yet.  Here we go.  3, 2, 1. . . .leap.

Did it work?  Yes, it did.  This silly warm-up paragraph somehow, some way produced a post.  This post in fact.

I decided to take my daughter’s advice and jot down a few topics and plan ahead.  That brought me back to the start.  how to start a . . .

I’m proud to say I’ve actually accomplished a few of these items.  I need to get started on that garden and possibly a conversation one day about how I started a garden.

Not knowing where to start is an idea killer.  What do you do if you don’t know where to start?  You don’t START!  You stall out, you STOP.

What you’re searching for is a series of steps that lead up to a completed project.  All you’re really seeking in the cycle of not knowing and petrified state of being still is step one.

how to start a . . .provides a blueprint that someone else used to build and accomplish their objective.  I know this might seem crazy but that’s where you can start.  Not typing into a search bar but by drawing up a blueprint.  It’s where it all begins in the creative process.  If you are building the unknown of a grand life-changing idea there is no blueprint to follow so you get to be the creative architect.

It’s ok if you don’t know what the finished product will look like.  It will probably change along the way regardless.  Start with step one and see where that takes you.

start with step one: Andrew Neel