I hate starting a new writing project. And it doesn't matter what kind of project it is, whether it's a six-line classified ad, or a 100,000 word book.
This page fight performance anxiety syndrome is similar to an actor's stage fright. It's a subtle form of writer's block. Not disabling, but it leads to procrastination which leads to low self-esteem.
Here are some ways I've found to get around it:
* I tell myself that I'm playing --- I won't use this page at all, it's just a warm-up;
* I write 20 opening sentences. The first 15 are awful, which is fine. But by sentence 20 I've broken through and page fright has gone;
* I write the beginning of the project away from my office on my Palm PDA --- this makes it more casual, and I feel as if I'm on holiday. Or, I write the first few pages on thick, luscious paper with a fountain pen;
* I do the housekeeping for the project: open a file, create a template, make a list of research sources --- busywork, but it breaks page fright;
* I give myself ten minutes to play Chess Tiger on my Palm --- no longer! (After ten minutes I feel so guilty I leap into the project);
* I promise myself a treat (chocolate works for me) when I've written the first paragraph;
* I write one sentence every hour. I set a timer to make sure I don’t forget. After a couple of hours of this, I'm acclimatised to the project and page fright is gone.
