Begin Your Story

Begin Your Story
Alan Watt with L.A. hills behind

Alan Watt

Table of Contents

write 100 words a day
win a Tuscany retreat

explore upcoming
writing workshops

finish the day with a completed outline

There are as many ways to begin your story as there are ways to procrastinate. Beginning to write your book or screenplay is easier than you think. All you have to do is sit down, get out a sheet of paper, and give yourself permission to write poorly.

It is not an intellectual exercise. Contrary to what you might think, there is nothing to figure out. In fact, beginning your story is about discovery; you can’t know it ahead of time.

To outline is to begin your story.

Same goes for writing a character sketch.

Imagine two characters in relationship to each other.

You are much closer than you think.

Learn more about marrying the wildness of your imagination to the rigor of structure in The 90-Day Novel, The 90-Day Memoir, or The 90-Day Screenplay workshops.

Alan Watt with L.A. hills behind

Alan Watt

Writing Coach

Alan Watt is the author of the international bestseller Diamond Dogs, winner of France’s Prix Printemps, and the founder of alanwatt.com (formerly L.A. Writers’ Lab). His book The 90-Day Novel is a national bestseller. As Alan has been teaching writing for over two decades, his workshops and the 90-day process have guided thousands of writers to transform raw ideas into finished works, and marry the wildness of their imaginations to the rigor of story structure to tell compelling stories.

unlock the story within

Join my newsletter for writing ideas and news on upcoming workshops.

Related posts

stream-of-consciousness

Stream-of-Consciousness Writing

There’s rhythm in prose. The rhythm might be intentionally terse, like a Charles Bukowski novel, or dense and languid like...

morning pages

What are “Morning Pages”?

“Morning pages” is the term coined by Julia Cameron in her work The Artist’s Way used to describe the habit...

how to start writing a book

How to Start Writing a Book

Welcome! And congratulations! If you’re reading this, you are about to begin a creative journey that can bring satisfaction and...