Messy Beginnings are Okay

It’s November eighth which means day 8 into the National Novel Writing Month (otherwise known as NaNoWriMo) challenge.

If you are participating, I want you to take a deep breath and say, “It’s okay to have a messy beginning.”

If you’re not participating, I want you to take an even bigger breath and say, “It’s completely okay to have a messy beginning.”

What do I mean by that? Let me give you an example.

In the ten years it took me to finish my first novel, I spent the first two years writing, rewriting, and editing the beginning.

I couldn’t get it right. I didn’t like what the characters were saying or how the villain was reacting. At one point I changed the setting 4 times thinking it was the problem. I never got further than the third chapter because I thought, “If I don’t get the beginning right how can I move on?”

If you suffer from perfectionism like me, you most likely understand the dilemma that blocked my path.

After years of struggling, I let go, charged forward, and finally typed The End.

And you know what? I didn’t even keep those first three chapters; I tossed them out. I just needed to finish them so I could move on to my story’s true beginning.

Proud of myself for finishing but knowing I needed to find a faster way to write a book, I tried NaNoWriMo.

Let me tell you the deadline-induced panic was just the thing I needed to get over that pesky perfectionism. After thirty days of writing, (well, more like thirty days of word vomiting) I had a 50,000 word novella in my hands. It was not perfect by any means, it needed tons of editing and reworking—

—but it was a finished project.

I discovered through NaNoWriMo the only way I could finish was to just let the beginning be a disaster and push on until I got to the end.

After I took a few months break, I came back and discovered my beginning was more than salvageable. Because I had relaxed and let the words flow, I was able to organize my story better. I didn’t worry about finding the exact right words or spend hours worrying if the setting was right. I just typed furiously and hoped for the best.

I know it can be tough getting through those first few chapters, but I want you to think of them as your vocal warmups. You’re not singing the words to the song yet. You’re just making sounds and testing your pitch so you can be ready for the big show. Let those opening words be a trainwreck, I mean an utter disaster completely broken and on fire, because once you start typing you will find your footing. You will discover what works and what doesn’t and what broken pieces can be hammered together to make the foundation for your story.

Hey, maybe you can keep your opening like I did the second time around, but even if you can’t, it was still worth it because you discovered which direction to take. Since you did those warm-ups, you’re ready to wow the crowd with the real opening lyrics.

Happy writing and good luck to you NaNoWriMos!

(And remember to take breaks or you might end up like this guy)