Thanks for your kind words. To your question, that is a big hurdle for me as well. I suspect everybody struggles with this. Some days, it’s just “not there”. If the price of a clear mind is only fifteen minutes of non-productivity, then I’d call that a great bargain! But, regardless, it does pay to slog through and get words on the page anyway. You can always throw them out later, if they’re not what you had in mind or if they’re just plain terrible. But I often find that there is value to even what feels lifeless at the time. Something in your head is churning, and that invariably does come out in one form or another—even when you’re feeling about as creative as a tree stump. But if you don’t write it down, you may—and from personal experience I find it is in fact quite likely—lose the train of thought and never quite get it back. That is the tragedy that looms: losing a good idea for lack of feeling properly prepared. These feelings of needing to be prepared, or ready, or of properly clear mind, or whatever it is that stops you, these feelings are irrelevant. Ignore them. Write anyway, even though you think you’ve not yet figured out how to begin. There is no magic for us mere mortals: you begin by beginning.
It could even be as simple as writing, “I have nothing to write right now. At least that’s what it feels like at the moment.” And go from there. Ask questions (“Why don’t I feel like writing?” “What would it feel like if I did feel like writing?” “This pen really irks me, and here’s why” and so on—whatever crosses the transom, silly or profound). Spew. Ask questions. Blather. Ask questions. Daydream. Ask more questions. Daydream some more. There isn’t anything for which a raft of questions can’t be asked, and pondered, any of which can easily lead to another raft of questions. More often than not, your problem will turn out to be, not too little, but way too much to write about. And if it’s ninety-seven percent crap at first, so what? The delete key is always available upon a second or third reading. But amidst the junk there are usually seeds, little chunks of gold, that can be plucked out and expanded on, or that trigger a train of thought or a line of useful questions, and turned into a good essay. At any beginning, it’s those little golden dribbles and crumbs that you’re after. Often, for me (and I’ve no reason to think it’s any different for everybody else), the best nuggets are on a different topic entirely from what you initially planned. Whatever it is, let go of whatever preconceived notions you had and just run with it.
The brain is a funny, quirky, persnickety, thing, with a mind of its own, separate from your conscious thoughts and worries and self judgments. Self judgments are toxic, and evil. Slay them at once, whenever and wherever they pop up. It feels like Wack-A-Mole at first, and for a long time, but you get better at it with practice. Let your mind ramble. Let it babble. Let it roam of its own volition wide and far and free. There is no penalty, no cost to that—and it can be surprisingly fun. The only thing to remember is to be typing (or, perhaps, merely transcribing) as it rambles.
Good luck, and happy beginnings!
the comments on On Conservative “Governance” – Aperiodic Wanderings.
I actually do have some questions for you if it’s okay.
Is it just me or do a few of the remarks look as if they are written by brain dead visitors?
Heh, yeah, some weird ones. I suspect they’re robots — pretty poorly programmed ones at that. I don’t know why this post is the only one that attracts the amusing automated trolls. I delete them when I see them, but sometimes it takes a couple days to get around to it.
I’m on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/marc.murison). I’m on Twitter, too, but not at all active — not enough signal to noise.