The first word is hard. The second one is a little easier. The third? The third should be even easier, which is why I say to write it. Don’t worry about the first word too much. Just start. Let yourself reach the third word, then the fourth and fifth. Don’t spend a lot of time obsessing over the words. Just get them on the paper.
The third word is important because it’s the crux of continuing forward. It’s a little like getting to end of the first mile when I go for a run. My litany of complaints is starting to dwindle, and I’m beginning to focus on the next mile. I know if I can get to mile two, I’ll be able to reach the next one. The work itself may still suck, but my head won’t get in the way quite as much anymore. It’ll have quieted into its own routine while my body does the work.
Writing works similarly. If I can get the first few words on the page, I can get a few more and a few more until I have a page filled with them. Sometimes, that “few more” is more of a struggle than other times. I keep going. I keep writing because the hard labor put in on one piece of writing pays off in another (to paraphrase Richard Hugo).
I say: write the third word. Don’t get stuck on the first. Find a writing rhythm and write. Just write.
Image: Carol Browne (CC BY NC SA 2.0)