It’s the worst nightmare for most writers. The blank page. Its whiteness is intimidating as it is asking to be filled with words. What words? Where do they come from? Will they make sense to anyone but me?
I don’t think that it should be a nightmare, though. I would much rather consider it a challenge. Yes, it is still intimidating. But challenges are also thrilling. There may be all kinds of obstacles on the way. But don’t you feel ever so accomplished if you master them after all?
Truth be told, I don’t often face the blank page. I stare into space or I distract myself with the laundry or a TV show on Netflix. And as much as I hate procrastination, I also seem to be unable to stop myself.
Until I simply sit in front of that blank page, whether it is on a screen or if it’s an actual paper page in a notebook on my desk. Then I will sit and consider tons of things until I end up writing something down.
This is how this post started. I sat in a café in London, feeling the urge to write and waiting to see what happened. The story that is still slumbering within wasn’t ready just yet. I felt as if I was fumbling with the words and didn’t know where to start.
So, a new post, long overdue, is the next best thing to work on. The struggle of the blank page is real for many of us. Whether it terrifies us or thrills us, it always seems something the writer has to ‘overcome’, if you will.
It’s a battle against the emptiness. A space that needs to be filled. And words are our only weapons. Perhaps, I should do this more often. Sit in a café, anywhere in the world, open up a new document on my tiny laptop and see what I can come up with.
It does get me writing and that’s infinitely better than procrastinating. Even if that one story keeps slumbering. Any writing is better than no writing.
WritingMyLifeAway 