The Blank Page

Writers find the blank page to be intimidating. There is actually nothing wrong with a blank page. This emptiness gives us time for observation. There are a number of things we can take in while our creative juices begin to simmer. We can observe our own thought process. Why does white space bother us so much? We all know it is a temporary thing. What are others doing? Who wrote the latest best seller and why is it a best seller? What’s new in poetry?

These are all things that we can consider when the blank page stares so fiercely back at us. We should learn to enjoy this time. Perhaps we can think about what it is that we really want to do with our craft. Now, that is something that is totally worthwhile. Some people have dreams of putting together books. What do we need in order to do this? How can I use this time to make that future goal entirely more possible?

Helping others is a good way of helping ourselves. There may be some problem a fellow artist needs to overcome in order to perfect their craft. What do we need to overcome in our own talents? Can we use this time to help both of us? Why not? Any and all of these activities might just be what we need so that the next time we sit in front of a blank screen or page, it doesn’t intimidate us. We have used our uninspired time constructively and can start with that.

Then, again, some people just like crisp, clean paper for itself. I, personally, have an attraction for pens.