Writing a Novel Part V: Fear at the Beginning

Written by John Edward Betancourt

So first and foremost I want to apologize to everyone for letting this blog go the wayside. I didn't forget about it, I came to realize that well...by telling you the story of how I put together my first book, I need an ending to the story and the proper finale would be getting it out to agents, chronicling that process and the process to publication and well, with an unfinished product that would make me look quite the fool. This blog went into "neglect" if you will simply because I have been doubling down, giving the novel another deep polish so it is ready to send out in early 2016 and as I near completion, I thought it was time to revisit this blog and finish what I started so long ago. 

Now when it comes to writing, there is one part of the process that is extremely difficult. In fact it is so tough, that it often times leads to the writer staring at a blank piece of paper or computer screen for an extended period of time. The words simply don't come and with good reason, there's fear in this part of the process, a fear that is overpowering and controlling to say the least. I'd like to tell you that it is a good old fashioned case of writer's block, but I don't believe in that. I firmly believe that ideas that aren't ready or are the wrong fit are what cause "writer's block." No this terrifying moment is something far simpler...it is the beginning of the novel.

What makes this so scary exactly? Well, because this is a journey into the unknown. Despite all the prep work that I have talked about, all the hours of putting together characters and plotting out the finite details, there is one thing that no writer can ever be prepared for...what the heck do I say to start off the novel?  After all, you want it to be perfect. This is your novel, your work, your baby in many ways and to do anything outside of write the perfect words to start it off would be an injustice to the story. 

The reason for this is simple, the beginning of the novel is powerful, powerful stuff. This is the moment when you draw your reader in, when you give life to a world of endless possibilities and the weight of that, the terror that comes with it...well it strikes you at your core and I froze. I couldn't put a word down on the digital page to save my life. I puttered around, watched television, basically I did everything I could to avoid the fact that it was time to get down to writing because in the moment I had not a clue what to say.

This actually went on for a couple of days in fact, the fear and terror keeping control when I finally had a nice silent talk with myself. For one, I had to calm down, I knew the story backwards and forwards. I had outlined everything to a tee, I had a strong idea of who the people were populating this story, I simply had to write. Didn't matter what I wrote, I just needed to start somewhere and that was the grand lesson I learned...to sit down and just start typing. I decided the only way to get out of this tiny funk was to pick a moment in time for James Brigman, and let the story flow from there. 

Thankfully, after spitting out a few words and promptly deleting them, I finally found that perfect moment where the story came to life and the next thing you know, I had a chapter of the book written and then another. It seemed at first like this was going to be easier than I thought. In fact I patted myself on the back over how my planning would serve me so well. But as I've mentioned before in this series...writing is a rollercoaster, filled with twists and turns you would never expect and a curveball was coming and that's where we will pick up next time, sooner than last time, I promise, until then.