write it and take my chances

I have an writing assignment that I've been putting off, mainly because I don't know how to start. Or finish, or do it at all, really. My task is to write a fairy tale, and all that magic and all those little creatures that are waiting to be put into a story are intimidating me. I don't do little creatures -- my housemates will tell you that.

The starting is always the hardest part. John Steinbeck's reflections to a college story-writing professor helped me to realize I have company, even that of the most accomplished writers.

... I still don't know how to go about it except to write it and take my chances... The formula [for writing a story] seems to lie solely in the aching urge of the writer to convey something [she] feels important to the reader. If the writer has that urge, [she] may sometimes but by no means always find the way to do it.

Wish me luck!