The trick that finally got me unstuck on story openings

I kept staring at blank pages for like 45 minutes every time I tried to start a new piece. The problem was I always wanted to set up the perfect scene with weather and descriptions before getting to the action. Then I read this tip from a writer who said to just skip the first paragraph entirely and start with dialogue or a weird detail. I tried it last week on a prompt about a haunted laundromat and I wrote 800 words in one sitting. It felt like cheating honestly but it totally worked because my brain wasn't trying to paint a picture. The dialogue just pulled me into the story and I added the setting stuff later during edits. Has anyone else found a weird trick like this that breaks your writer's block?

3 comments

3 Comments

sean85414d ago

Skip the first paragraph" feels like telling a carpenter to just skip the first few hammer swings and hope the nail goes in straight. But hey, if it works I guess my brain's just lazy.

amy_west14d agoMost Upvoted

Three drafts and a coffee later, that first paragraph finally unlocked the whole thing for me.

phoenix57313d ago

Old @amy_west got it right though, sometimes you gotta bleed on the page first.