Getting over the Hump (not sex or rejection!)

During term time I see this phenomenon repeated lots of times a week. A bunch of writers come into class, most of them saying they haven't been able to get much written over the past week. I set them an exercise. They groan, complain, ask for something easier. I hit them over the head with my big stick until they quieten down (actually I've just made that bit up) and then they have precisely 7 minutes and 35 seconds to get on with some writing.

7 minutes and 36 seconds later I say it's time to stop writing. They all ignore me and carry on. So I say it a bit louder. Then I say (and you can see I have total control of my class): 'Oh, well, as you're writing so much, carry on for another minute or two.'

After another minute and 45 seconds, I ask them to stop again. Reluctantly, one by one, they put down their pens and class carries on.

It happens again and again. There's this hump - this thing about starting writing. Writing once you've got over the hump is easy, but getting enough energy to push yourself up and over is hard. Sometimes, writing seems such a hard task, it doesn't seem worth bothering, especially if you've only got fifteen minutes or so free.

Believe me - it's worth it. In class, it usually takes less than TWO MINUTES for everybody to be scribbling away having got over the hump. I am a superb procrastinator, but even I take only a couple of minutes to settle down to writing once I've actually started.

I promise in less than 3 minutes you'll be so into your writing you'll have forgotten all about the hump and how difficult it was to get started. Just do it! Start right now!