Begin anywhere.
That's something we say a lot at the Desert Island Supply Co. If you don’t know where to start, just begin. If you think you can’t write well, just begin. If you’re afraid to get going because other people may not think it’s good, just begin. If your inner critic has kicked in and you’ve lost your confidence, just begin.
Start now. Don’t wait. Don’t worry. Just begin. Begin anywhere.
At DISCO, we love the promise of a new writing journal, all the fresh blank pages — unmapped terrains — ready for new discoveries. We know that starting the writing journey can be a little scary, especially for young writers who are not used to the idea of the first draft — that rough, raw, unpolished, unformed, imperfect, provisional piece of writing that we often don't want anyone else to see.
All of our DISCO instructors are outfitted with tools and strategies not only for helping young writers get those first drafts down but also for understanding that first drafts are how we liberate our thoughts from our minds and give them life in the world. First drafts are how we exhale, how we take our first steps on a journey of discovery. First drafts map out the terrain for our later selves to follow. Once you have a first draft, you have something to work with, something to revise and improve. You're not staring at a blank page anymore, afraid to to begin. You've begun.
And by the end of the school year, our students’ journals will be full of jots, scribbles, lists, doodles, torn pages, stains, and many, many first drafts. And at least one of those drafts will be polished and published in a book with a title that hasn’t even been written yet.
We hope you will give to DISCO’s First Draft Fund to help supply our students with the tools they need – pencils, paper, inspiration, guidance, encouragement, experience – and to enable the first of many first drafts of this school year and beyond.
Thank you!