Problem with xmltextwriter Data at the root level is invalid. Line 1, position 1.

Question

I am getting the error "Data at the root level is invalid. Line 1, position 1." when I try to load an xml file that I create. I know why the error is being thrown. The problem is the root node is not being written to the xml file correctly. I think I maybe doing something wrong but all of the examples I have looked at seems like I am creating the xml file right. Here is my code:

 

      //Check if the file exists so we do not override an existing file
      if (!File.Exists(fileName))
      {
        xmlTextWriter = new XmlTextWriter(fileName, null);

        //Add the root node to the document
        if (startNode != null)
        {
          xmlTextWriter.WriteStartDocument();
          xmlTextWriter.WriteStartElement(startNode);
          xmlTextWriter.WriteEndElement();
          xmlTextWriter.WriteEndDocument();
        }

        xmlTextWriter.Flush();
        xmlTextWriter.Close();
      }  

Here is an example of what is created after the xmltextwriter is closed:

 

 <?xml version="1.0"?><Projectiles />

I am not sure why the root tag is being written like it is.
Thank you for any help!