New Year, New Novel

 If you're a writer, I'll bet one of your New Year's Resolutions is to write a novel. Me, too. 

This is a wonderful goal, a beautiful dream, but the reality might not match up, at least in the beginning. It takes a lot of time and effort to write a novel. Not trying to discourage you, just saying that every writer, no matter how many books you've written, whether they're bestsellers or flops, all start out the same way. With the first word, and your perseverance to push through the crappy first draft.

It happens to all of us. When I begin a new book (and I've written a lot of books), and I'm sitting at my computer looking at a blank page, all the scribbled notes I have, and all the thoughts I have in my head about the novel, seem to evaporate and I'm looking at a blank screen. I can see the finished novel in my mind, and I know it will eventually find its way onto paper, BUT I tend to trip myself up when first beginning a new book. 

There's a phrase for this and it's called First Word Phobia. I experience this Every. Single. Time. The only way to get through it is to just put your butt in the chair and type words. Any words. Maybe just notes to yourself about the novel you're writing. Just to get something down on paper. Once you've got a few pages, first word phobia disappears, like magic. Because your muse takes over. Your characters start whispering to you. The words start to grow, tripping over each other to get written on the page.

You can do this. I can do this. You can write a new novel in the new year. Go for it! Do it!