copperbadge:

pale-chartreuse
replied to your quote “I entered the society of the craft at the age of fourteen, as an…”

This is an amazing statement of intent. This goes into my stash of sources to steal from if I ever need to make a speech.

I will say I have found that when I have trouble starting something – a fic, or the intro to a paper, or a tough email – it helps to pretend you are Charles Dickens. Not only did Dickens have a level of ego that seemed to make him believe he literally could not write bad fiction*, he always started with the most vital part of the impending scene. (”Marley was dead, to begin with.”) 

Dickens had some issues and I’m not trying to say you should read his books to become a better writer because wow no. But I find that just putting yourself into the flappy cloak of an arrogant 19th century novelist who was paid by the word really helps get the ink flowing. You can go back and rewrite it in modern English later. 

* Great Expectations is a terrible book. Fight me.