I know that the first paragraph of an article is supposed to be powerful, compelling and attention-grabbing. This article is an exception; this paragraph won't say much. Nevertheless, I beg your indulgence; please read on. There is a point I want to express, I'll get started on it soon. I won't ramble on much longer, bear with me just a moment...

Whew! I finished the dreaded first paragraph. Now we can get down to business.

As a writer, I find that ideas are thankfully not so difficult to come by, and I really enjoy the mental process of developing a nascent idea into material for an essay. And once I've penned the first paragraph, the rest usually flows rather easily. But actually getting started on writing is where I always get stuck.

I habitually create a Word file, name it and save it. I then suddenly find a million and one other pressing tasks that simply can't wait. During the following days, every once in a while I'll open up the blank file I created and consider starting to write, but the words elude me, and, to my relief, the phone rings or there's an urgent email that requires my attention. And then suddenly the article's deadline is looming... I then force myself to sit down, focus and write. And once I'm writing, all's well. I'm lost in my little world; my phone and inbox don't exist until I've finished the final sentence.

We all are writers. As possessors of freedom of choice, we write our own story. At birth we are given a fresh blank piece of paper and the mandate to write on it whatever we wish. We can scribble and cover it with colorful doodles, we can turn it into a paper plane and shoot it around in the breeze--or we can use it to record the story of a life full of meaning and substance.

Nothing is more difficult than penning the beginning of a new chapter in our book. We have plenty of ideas that we'd like to include in the book, we have developed and finely-tuned these ideas--they are all ready, just waiting for us to write them.

At such times, we must bear in mind that things just get easier after the first paragraph. Take the plunge, and the rest will come so much easier. Decide today on your next chapter and start writing.

See, I finished. Wasn't that hard after all. Hopefully next time I'll take this lesson to heart.

Do you have any tips how to get started on writing a chapter? Feel free to share in comment section below.