When creating a new Microsoft Word document, you have the option of creating it from scratch, or basing it on a template. In another tutorials we will look at creating a Word document based on a template, but here we're going to look at starting from a clean slate. Tha advantage of starting from scratch is that you have more control and flexibility over how your document looks and how it is structured. Any styling and effects present in the document will be there because you put them there. The disadvantage is that it can take some time to create the look and feel you want, and in some cases you will be "reinventing the wheel". Word templates are designed to speed up the process of creating stunning and professional documents.
To get started, click the File tab > New. The following panel opens giving you many options (click on the image to enlarge it).
You'll notice that the top of the panel gives you the option to create a blank document, a blog post and also to create your document on a template or an existing document. Blank document is selected by default and that's the option we need, so click Create. A new blank document opens and is ready for you to start editing. As soon as you can, you should save the document and then periodically you should keep saving it so that you don't lose your changes if your PC crashes or there is a power cut.
A quick way to create a blank Word document is to use the keyboard shortcut ctrl-n.
