Every young writer knows the struggles of starting a new piece. Whether you write for a magazine, a newspaper, or if you are starting your next novel, the beginning process is usually the same. After some inspiration from Stephen King's On Writing, I've decided to lay out some of the most popular beginning steps I've noticed writers take

1. Absurd Confidence

When first starting a new project, young writers fill to the brim with assurance. This time, THIS TIME, you will dedicated and distractions like Netflix and Twitter will not get the better of you

2. Block #1

After a few paragraphs of this new piece, you begin to learn that you're having trouble following your own story. An inner monologue begins, "Where did I want this to go? What color was the table cloth? Red? Blue? Why can't I remember?!"

3. Break 1

You'll never solve this tablecloth dilemma like this. Time for tea and maybe a smoke.

4. Return to Work

With your tea in hand, potentially smelling of menthols, you come back to your work station ready to move forward. Side note, the table cloth was gold, that way when the wine spilled the color could pop.

5. Block #2

This usually comes after a substantial amount of work is complete. Now, substantial is a relative term, so this could be anywhere between 150-2,000 words, but the point is once again you find yourself unable to move forward, probably because of the stubborn tablecloth again.

6. Break 2

Seeing as you've taken to smashing your head against your keyboard, you decide to take a step back for a bit. Your starving and food puns are starting to make there way into your writing. No one wants to read that you "olive someone" because you "make a great pear".

7. Satisfied Day End

After returning from your snack, you look back over your days work and decide that this is probably a good place to let off. Forcing your writing has never done you any good, so you'll just take a load off and finish up tomorrow.

Side Note: Step 7 can be altered in the case of an encroaching deadline. Work never stops when stuff is due.

So, there ya have it. While every writer is individual, there are always some consistencies between us, so chance are your process is remarkably similar to the one laid out above.