Anyone who has ever had a water break or dealt with old water lines that haven’t been used in a while knows the importance of running the water to clear the junk out of the lines. In many ways, our creativity works the same way.
Sometimes, the hardest part of writing is getting started; the first words in a new book, sitting down to the keyboard after a short break, or even after waking up in the morning. Think of your first few lines as clearing out the muck so the true story can find a way out. Don’t judge these words and thoughts too harshly, just get something down on paper. Even if those words never appear in the final draft, they serve the equally important role of getting the flow started.