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Tuesday 28 April 2015

Any Beginning Will Do

'Never lose an opportunity of urging a practical beginning' 
Florence Nightingale - the Lady with the Lamp


From the point of view of a writer, any beginning will do, as long as it's a start. The blank page can intimidate you into all manner of procrastination:

  • Sharpen pencils (first find pencils and sharpener)
  • Turn on computer (check FB, comment, like, reply, friend, unfriend ad infinitum)
  • Make coffee (grind beans, refill sugar pot - at a pinch wash up or run the dishwasher - bake scones, whip cream, invite friends to eat, shake crumbs from cleavage)
  • Research topic (search library catalogue, read online snippets, look up Wikepedia, sigh, check bookshelf for related items, tidy bookshelf, alphabetise books by title, decide alphabetising books by author is better, read three other novels)
  • Light lamp (turning on lights is a reasonable alternative since by now it will be dark)
  • Put pencils in order according to size (ready for the morning)
  • Turn off computer  (after checking FB, commenting, liking, replying, friending, unfriending ad infinitum).
Job done. Fresh start tomorrow!

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