The page is blank. The cursor is blinking. The number of pages you're hoping to write is looming. The first paragraph is always the most difficult to write. They tend to seem so canned, so generic, and without much personality or purpose. The easiest way for me to start writing is to type out my headings and subheadings according to my outline, which gives me a bit of direction as to how to focus my writing. I forgot to do this tonight, so it took me four hours to write six pages, which includes an introduction and a section on the concept of semi-presidentialism. Thank goodness for the concept of editing. Next week I will be writing on the Russian model of semi-presidentialism and analyzing whether it adequately safeguards democracy. I've already typed out my headings for this section, so the writing should go much more smoothly!
