This is the second in a series of occasional posts, an A-to-Z guide designed to help you nurture your passion for writing.

“B” stands for “be a beginner.”

No matter how much experience you have with writing, you may benefit more from being a beginner than from being an expert. Being a beginner allows you to approach your work with fresh awareness, open to the possibilities, willing to learn and explore and discover. It means you have no need for perfection, achievement, or standards. It means you are free to play.

Every time you sit down to write, you have the opportunity to begin again. Being a beginner gives you the freedom to turn the blank page that faces you into something else, something full of feeling and truth, nonsense and fun, and every other impulse and insight. Being a beginner frees you to step directly into the creative life you long for.

As a beginner, you don’t have to focus on improvement. You simply improve with practice, over time. Through the practice of writing, you develop insights, openness to your material, ease and skill with language, and a willingness to play, all of which lead ultimately to greater knowledge about style and craft and increased ability to create stories, poems, essays, and every other written form.

One way to be a beginner is to start with yourself. Your own experience provides limitless writing possibilities. Write about what you think, imagine, and feel. You can also start with the present moment. Begin by writing down everything you notice—everything you see, smell, taste, hear, and touch. This practice will help you hone your sense awareness which, in turn, will make your writing come to life. As a beginner, you easily understand that your own observations make a wonderful starting point.

See all the posts in this series.

What’s your favorite way to begin a writing session?