By Jim Osterman

Editor’s Note: Many of our readers have no doubt experienced the fear of the white page. It’s scary – that empty, clean white space that requires your fingers to tap the keyboard into some coherent, interesting order of words. It’s kept some from starting that blog that they want (need) to have. Yet the prospect of writing doesn’t have to be intimidating. Read what one writer has to say about how to get started.

His key points:

1) Just write.

2) It’ll take some time to develop your style.

3) Just write.

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At the risk of taking bread off my table I’m going to answer the question people ask me when they find out I’m a writer, that being:

“How do I become a writer?”

Here’s the answer, and you need to pay careful attention. Maybe write this down:

Write.

I wish I could make it more mysterious or sexy, but that’s pretty much it.

Surely, it helps to be talented and know what you’re writing about, but if you’re starting from scratch you need to start with the simple act of writing. About what? Anything. But I would suggest following Mark Twain’s advice and “write about what you know.”

If you do not write as a matter of your daily routine, begin doing so. Go to a free blog site and start writing. Because here’s what you are going to find out – your first post, or your first few posts, will probably be information dense. But quickly you’re going to run out of content.

You’re not used to thinking in terms of producing content on a steady basis. Just for fun commit to 10 posts of 300 words within a two-week period. About post #5 you’ll find the words may not be coming as quickly because you’ve used that handful of topics you’d let simmer for a while.

Keeping mental or written notes of things you want to write about is where your future posts will come from. It will also get you thinking beyond the first sentence.

And then write some more.

Like anything it takes time to find a rhythm and groove. Great golfers become great because they hit thousand of balls at the driving range. Great cooks have produced scores of dishes that were inedible. That guy who does great stone work screwed a lot of jobs in the early days.

And speaking of early days, just write. Get the words out of your head and on to the page, or computer screen, without stopping to see if you like them. You can go back and edit later – it is easier to trim than add. And that great idea you set aside yesterday usually ain’t there today.

And then write some more.

You first efforts will be dreadful. It’s okay. The word police will not come and haul you away because your content doesn’t sparkle. Dig into the archives and listen to some of the Beatles recordings from their Hamburg days – you will not hear a polished band ready to define a genre of music. You will hear an undisciplined group of boys finding their way as they drank, smoked, chased girls and sang in a small club night after night.

Keep writing. Then write some more. And then repeat the process. When you are starting to feel comfortable get a trusted friend with good taste to read your work. Ask them for total candor. Check your ego and be ready to hear that you are not yet the next big thing.

One note about style. You may admire Frank Deford or Ayn Rand or Ann Coulter or Dave Barry. Wonderful. Use them for inspiration but your style should be yours and not an attempt at someone else’s.

And then write some more.

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Jim Osterman is a freelance writer living in Atlanta specializing in creative communications – Web content, press releases, marketing collateral, ad copy – pretty much all things words. He writes a weekly column for “The Atlanta Journal-Constitution” and is the author of “Excellence in Brand Advertising.”

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Thursday, February 25th, 2010, 7:17 am   |   Blogs  |  RSS feed |  Respond  |  Trackback