They say writing is hardest before you start

I used to have lots of words, lots of sentences and turns of phrase. I used to have things to say and ways to say them. I used to have piles of paper with words on them. I used to have a voice that didn't shake or stutter.

Now it seems that my words are wasted and confused. They come out sideways and hard. I am unsure of my words. I am unsure of my audience. I can't seem to find the thread of conversation, instead I hiccup and jump along the plot line like a studdebaker on a bad winter's day. I start stories and realize I didn't have a story, I had a sentence. And it felt so important that for a moment i thought that there was something behind it. 

Writing is harder than it used to be. Words are less fluid than they used to be. Ideas are harder to isolate and to form. Is this age, and degradation of my mind? Or is this a lack of practice and rust building up in the joints of my soul..

Perhaps we can explore this together, you and I, self. 

Today i'm setting the goal of making a start. And finishing that.

So here we are. Writing words, and starting.