Wherin I don't have Writer's Block.

The topic of writer's block is a frequent one, with people staring at a blank page and no idea what to do. My uncle, a published writer, says just start something. Anything. Once things start moving, they tend to gather a bit of life of their own and keep going. So a shopping list, the dinner party invitations, cousin Judy's birthday card. Anything.


My version of this is a simple sentence that could go anywhere. The classic Bulwer-Lytton line, "It was a dark and stormy night." is one of these, but sets a mood going in, and oh yeah, it's the tag line for the worst opening sentence annual contest so that's out. That doesn't mean the idea is without value.

The sun was shining that Saturday. It was crisp, actually outright cold, and windy. Those two factors combined such that the church attendance for the funeral of Eldon Miller was a decent crowd, 143 people showed, but by the time the procession reached the cemetery for the burial, only 18 remained, including the pastor, pall bearers, his daughter by his first marriage, and a few of his old ex-co-workers. And one person none of the others recognized.

So I used "The sun was shining that Saturday." When I started the paragaph, I knew I was going to have it be the funeral of  some guy (Eldon), but I didn't know I'd toss in the pall bearers or Mystery Person until I did. So where does it go? Anywhere. I could go with Eldon, or Mystery Person, or the daughter, or... how old was this guy? The daughter? By this time though, you should be unclogged and able to get to what you want.