blocks of wood and writers

I wonder if experienced carpenters pause superstitiously before they cut into a virgin board, questioning whether they've retained their skill and thinking that if that the first cut goes awry so will the rest of the project.
As a writer, I know that the whole of a story flows from the first sentence (my personal favorite from my personal oeuvre, about the Andes cannibals: "They ate them.") and if you change that sentence, the story changes. But I also know, due to experience, that I can make any number of different stories work. So I never have that clutching fear known as writer's block.
But faced with an actual block of wood, it's a different matter. I have to cut my way through with a deep breath, the right outfit (a bikini just won't work for me) and a kick-ass attitude. Perhaps more confidence will come with experience. Or wood to burn.