When a baby makes that move into the toddler phase, the critical first step is, well, the critical first step. Rolling over, crawling and the like no longer grabs the attention of the adoring grown-ups. A bold move is required.

Inevitably, that first step is followed by a fall. And so it goes, not just with learning to walk, but also with life ... and with writing. The first step – or getting the writing started – often is the most difficult and often is met with a fall or two.

Getting a writing project started, like taking those first steps, is about understanding where we're going, why we're going and how we want to get there. Or, as the toddler might put it, it's about seeing the toy across the room, deciding to go get it and then risking the fall.

All of this is part of the “pre-writing” process that often goes overlooked.

It starts with thinking about the end game. Figure out what you want to write (the theme or thesis), then come up with an outline, then write using that structure as a guide.

Anecdotes and illustrations will fall into place as supporting evidence for the points that back up the theme. This process not only keeps you focused, but thinking through it also helps narrow your focus to something you (and the reader) can manage more easily.

But what if you don't know where you're going or how you want to get there? Well, then it's time for an exercise in figuring it out. The exercise is simple: Write. This is always a good thing. Just write what you know and see what happens. Pick one thought and write about it. See where it takes you. See what God brings out of you.

When you finish, you might look back and say, "OK, that's well and good, but what's the point?" And you might think through it and decide, "There's not really a point, but I'm still glad I wrote it." More often than not, however, you get to the end and you get a sense of the greater meanings or lessons. Then, through rewriting and editing, you can work to make sure those meanings and lessons really come through in the story.

A word of caution: That approach is an exercise to jump-start the writing project. It's the toddler stumbling around the living room until he figures out where he wants to go. (“Hey! There's Grandma!”) It seldom, in and of itself, produces the finished project. Most often the “free writing” approach simply gets you into the more structured approach. In other words, write, write, write, and then use that as the foundation for coming up with a plan to write the final version.

Regardless of how you take your first steps in a writing process, there is one essential ingredient that must come into play: A deep and prayerful dependence upon God. Start with prayer. End with prayer. And in the middle, pray. Take those first steps in faith, not in yourself but in God. And soon your writing project will be off and running.