Writer's block? How do the professionals overcome the problem of getting that first sentence down on paper?

First: get organized. Know what you need to write, and why you are writing it. Problem Statement? Limitations section? Hypotheses? You can't write without planning what you are going to say. Make a list of the points you plan to cover- a word or two is enough-and then organize the research materials and notes you will use.

Second: look at samples. You can't write a section of Chapter I such as the Problem Statement if you don't know what a Problem Statement is, or what goes into it.

Third: get it down, then edit. What you write does not have to be perfect the first time. Get the words down, and then go back and refine where necessary.

Fourth: save, save, save. How discouraging to find that the page or chapter your worked so hard to write has disappeared in a hard disk failure, or when a power surge hits your computer. Save your work in multiple places: hard drive, floppy, zip drive, CD. Also print out sections as they are finished so you can see what your work looks like on paper.