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How to begin a text

micaelwidell.com

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Re: How to begin a text

#11

Post by itsmemattchung »

I agree, somewhat.

It's also a question of how one approaches writing: pansing vs plotting. Some authors, like Stephen King, swear by pansing and begin by forcing themselves to produce a certain number or words; whether it starts with character development or the plot, they exercise their powers of putting words on paper. Some authors, like J.K. Rowling, take a different approach and begin with sketching, diagraming, etc. I don't think the two are mutually exclusive, though.

Sometimes, even in the same piece of writing, I bounce back and forth between the two strategies.

Re: How to begin a text

#12

Post by henrik_w »

Something similar works when coding too: begin with ugly code that only solves a simple case. Then keep iterating and refactoring until it is good. Trying to get it right from the beginning just means you don't get started.

Re: How to begin a text

#13

Post by awesomebob »

gk1 wrote: post #4

It's like making pancakes. The first pancake is always going to suck. Just accept it and get through it so you can make a great batch of pancakes, or blog posts, or products, or...

I first heard this expression in Russian, "первый блин комом", is it actually used in English as well?

Interestingly, Google actually translates this to "better luck next time" instead of "the first pancake will be a lump/clod"

Re: How to begin a text

#15

Post by clydethefrog »

For me it really helped to use a simple editor. Focuswriter [1], Sublime with a simple theme for Markdown files [2] or just good old notepad (the digital or analog one). Or use WordStar, like Sawyer and George R. R. Martin.

[1] https://gottcode.org/focuswriter/ [2] https://github.com/revolunet/sublimetext-markdown-preview

Re: How to begin a text

#16

Post by 0898 »

henrik_w wrote: post #12

Something similar works when coding too: begin with ugly code that only solves a simple case. Then keep iterating and refactoring until it is good. Trying to get it right from the beginning just means you don't get started.

Business documents often begin with what I call 'corporate throat clearing'. Same principle.

Re: How to begin a text

#18

Post by idlewords »

awesomebob wrote: post #13
gk1 wrote: post #4

It's like making pancakes. The first pancake is always going to suck. Just accept it and get through it so you can make a great batch of pancakes, or blog posts, or products, or...

I first heard this expression in Russian, "первый блин комом", is it actually used in English as well? Interestingly, Google actually translates this to "better luck next time" instead of "the first pancake will be a lump/clod"

It's not used in English. All we have is the more forgiving "third time's the charm".

I love the Russian expression and we should steal it.

Re: How to begin a text

#19

Post by antjanus »

iainmerrick wrote: post #5
gk1 wrote: post #4

It's like making pancakes. The first pancake is always going to suck. Just accept it and get through it so you can make a great batch of pancakes, or blog posts, or products, or...

I've heard lots of people say that, but it almost always just means the pan isn't hot enough! Wait an extra minute and the first one will usually be fine. I'm not sure how that translates back to writing, though...

Especially when you use stainless steel pans. That shit gets stuck. Just heat up the pan, throw some oil on there, and watch it change. The oil usually looks a lot less viscous and that's when you know it's ready.

Re: How to begin a text

#20

Post by lucaslazaro »

Your good start sentence will come after "about 2-3 sentences in" it seems too optimistic, maybe for experienced writers that may be truth. I more pruned to believe the "Accept you will get it wrong the first nine times and only by the tenth time you'll succeed" - Edward B. Burger
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