Hello, my name is Justine, and I’m a starter.
I start far more writing projects than I finish.
I have new ideas every day, demanding ideas that demand to be started.
I love the feeling of starting. I love it so much that I’ll take starting over continuing or (gulp) finishing any day of the week.
Yup, I’m a starter, and I’m not alone. I recently received the following email from writer Melissa M.:
“I have just taken a look at the diagnostic tool you sent me and it does hit on a few problems. One of my bigger problems is that I seem to be a ‘starter.’ I have started about twenty four books, but I have only ‘finished’ (meaning I have written a first draft) one. I also feel that the one book I finished is not that good. I am sure it is a confidence issue, as I know I am my worst critic. I have tons of ideas, I
am just not sure what to do with them all. If there was a job out there that only required a person to generate ideas, I would be perfect for it. I love coming up with ideas, and I would love to just hand them off and watch someone else run with them, but I am also determined to take at least some of them and FINISH something! Thank you for the tool, I hope to utilize it and start moving in the right direction soon.”
A big thank you to Melissa for sharing her writing-related challenges with me, a fellow starter, and now with all of you. It helps to know we’re not alone.
With twenty-four books started, Melissa really is an idea machine. And although it doesn’t always feel that way, that’s actually a good problem to have. It means she’ll never want for material.
That said, being a starter comes with its own challenges, and that’s what you’ll have to tackle if you ever hope to finish your writing projects.