And so it begins...

In my Junior year of college, I had to write a research paper on the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. After spending a week reading four books and numerous articles on the subject, you would think I would be ready to write. But no... there was more research to do. There were more facts to gather, more evidence to uncover, more arguments to dispel. Just a whole lot of more.

Fortunately, I was dating someone at the time who was frustrated with how little time I'd given her that week. "Nate," she said, "you just need to start writing. You've got all the information you need to write this paper. You could get more, but it's just going to be excess at this point. You just need to get what's in your head out on paper." So we started writing. I say we because, on my own, I tend to edit as I go. My brain has time to catch up with what's on the page, see how it could be better, and stop to correct it. So instead of my usual process, I dictated. I spoke and she typed. Twenty minutes later, I had a clearly written, concise, 3-point, 5 page paper. A half hour of editing and footnoting, and it was ready to go.

Fast forward a decade and I wish that lesson had stuck better. On my trip from Seattle to Evansville, I hatched on idea for a story about a young girl who travels to a magical land. It was a short story based on my sister Rachael's marionette ostrich and her love for Curious George. It was supposed to be about five pages. Since then, the idea has grown into the outline for six novelettes, all with interconnected characters and networked plotlines worthy of the LOST writer's room. And I can hear that old advice again. "Nate, you just need to start writing. You've got all the story you need to write this book. You could get more, but it's just going to be excess at this point. You just need to get what's in your head out on paper."

My stepdad was in town a few weeks ago and gave me the same advice. "Write. Write a short story. Get something finished, so you can feel that accomplishment and run with it." I don't have a short story to write now, but I applied it to Kindarell instead. And while I still have to actively concentrate on the rule of "Write now. Edit later.", it's been working. I just finished the rough draft of the first chapter of the first novel of my life. And so it begins...