Beginning...
Beginning is the word of the week here in this blog and regarding writing, "beginning" can be a very tough thing for me. I have had a lot of papers and assignments in my life that I have known about for days and sometimes weeks. However, I always seem to wait until the last minute to start writing. This is not so much because I have nothing to say, but because I have no clue where to start.
According to Merriam-Webster, beginning simply means, "the point at which something begins" or "the first part." In an essay, the beginning could be choosing a topic or argument to discuss. As mentioned before, the ideas are always flowing around in my head, but I have trouble knowing where to start. Another way to begin writing is by thinking of a title. Sometimes I like to wait until I finish writing to pick a title, but if I am having trouble starting the essay, no title ever comes to fruition.
The hardest part about beginning an essay is boiling all of my ideas from my jumbled head into just one so I can begin the writing process. Usually, I have an ending in mind without even thinking of where I am going to start. One thing that has helped me in the past is to outline and put all of my thoughts down on paper just to see what ideas I already have. Because of this, it is easier to begin a paper without trying to remember everything as I go.
According to the advice given by the book on writing, beginning and writing an essay should not involve the generic 5-paragraph essay with a thesis, topic sentences, and a conclusion. Never will you see an example of this outside of the world of English class. Rather, one should begin a paper with more complexity and genuine thought that leads them to even newer thoughts. If an idea leads to another idea, beginning the writing process will be much easier because you are coming up with organic material and not just reiterating the same topic over and over again.
The book states that, "a beginning is also an ending" (15). This is a great way to look at it especially for me because sometimes, the start of my papers come after I already know how they are going to end. Down below, this fun video does a great job of explaining how to start an essay and keep it going throughout the whole paper.
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