During a recent Five Minute Friday Twitter Party, a topic of discussion was about getting ready to write and writing effectively. When I taught my Writing 101 class, participants wanted to know the same thing. How do I begin.

My flippant — but honest — answer was, “Just write.” It doesn’t have to be the beginning; it has to be a launching point. You capture the moment’s thought and fill in the gaps later — or as one of my Twitter comrades stated she writes a few critical scenes “then write connective tissue from beginning to the end.”

I am an advocate of the “everyone has a story” camp, but I also recognize people don’t write for a singular reason. In addition to the plethora of genres available, there are just as many audiences. I emphasized that to my students. Not every piece of writing is intended as a novel. More often the audience is smaller and more focused, like in blogging. And it isn’t unusual to write for an audience of one — either as a prayer journal for God or an everyday journal to monitor your personal progress. All, however, begin with that first word, that first sentence, that first paragraph, that story flow.

Writing doesn’t have to be daunting and it doesn’t have to be perfect. It’s an exercise that sharpens the mind and mines the rich resources stored in our brains. Once the words flow, we can reconstruct them using the “rules” of grammar, punctuation, tense and context. That’s editing — which, by the way, is never done. I’ve already {hopefully} polished some of my text as I expand Heaven Shining Through from a novella to a novel. And I wouldn’t be surprised if, after it is actually published, I start saying “I wish I would have said this;” or “That could have been explained better;” or “What in the world was I thinking?” as I read it in print. {That happened after reading my “final” galley proofs, necessitating a few rewrites, much to the chagrin of my publisher.}

It all comes down to communication, whether the project is the next best great American novel; a local post; or even a press release. Writing is nothing more than communicating your thoughts to others through words. Sentences, paragraphs, characters, plots, sub-plots and themes are just tools.

Don’t be afraid to share your thoughts, but always remember your audience.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength. — Corrie ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook