When I started yesterday’s post, I dithered around for a while, typing in a few pompous sentences about the importance of ground rules. After a couple of minutes, I found my subject and got comfortably into it. Once there, I cut those first dull comments.
Some people aptly call the dull, unfocused openings “throat clearing.” But whether they’re throat clearing, warming up, or finding one’s subject, those sluggish opening lines are not worth keeping, even if they fill a whole screen or took an hour to compose. For the sake of your audience, you have to let them go. Imagine starting a speech by clearing your throat into the microphone!
The next time you sit down to write, allow yourself a bit of throat clearing. But when you’re well into your ideas, delete it. That way, your reader gets to start at the real beginning of your message.
