As I sit down to write this blog, I find myself staring at a blank page. Not for the first time, and likely not for the last, I’m unsure what to fill this page with. Some people get intimidated by a blank page, almost as if it mocks them. “Bet you can’t write anything good here,” the blank page seems to say, taunting the writer and shaking their confidence.
I have a different reaction.
I see a blank page as opportunity. It’s inviting me to write whatever I want. I can fill the blank page with as much or as little text as I want, getting as many complicated thoughts down as I can, or merely writing something simple and light. See, the blank page and I have an understanding. What I write on the blank page stays between us. I may choose to share this information with other people, in the form of a blog post or as a part of a novel or roleplay. But that’s something I choose to do, and can do so anytime.
If I fill a blank page with crap, the only one who knows is the blank page itself.
And unless the blank page has become sentient, that’s where it will stay,.
The only way to improve as a writer is to write. And to write, you have to produce crap. You have to produce lots of crap to begin to get anything good. That amount of crap may be small, or huge, depending on the person. But every bit of crap helps get you that much closer to the good. And, like I said, no one but the blank page will know about the crap.
So, if you are intimidated by the blank page, I say don’t be. I say go in, guns blazing, and fill it with text. Fill it with crap, fill it with beautiful prose, but most importantly, just fill it.
After all, this is a blog post about a blank page. Surely, you can do one better. :)
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Do you fear or welcome the blank page?
Derek Pietras 