Savannah Watson

The blank page… a writer’s favorite or least favorite thing.

I personally have a love/hate relationship with the blank page. On one hand, a blank page is intimidating. If I don’t immediately start filling the page with words, it makes me feel like a failure. I find a blank page daunting (man, what a great word), especially when I don’t know where to begin, whether that means beginning a new story, a new chapter, or even just a new scene.

At the same time, a blank page feels like an invitation to explore and create something. It also feels like a challenge, like “hey, see how many words you can fit on me today.” And some days, I willingly accept that challenge.

And some days I don’t.

The days that I don’t accept that challenge are usually bad days for me to begin with. I may be faced with writer’s block or even just a bad mood. I mean, I may attempt to mark the blank page, but most days like this consist of me writing, erasing, and rewriting the word “the” more times than I care to admit.

So, when confronted with the blank page, how do you press forward when you are uncertain or having a bad writing day? Here is what I do:

1. Be Patient
   • The words will come to you, so be patient. I don’t mean that you should just stare at the blank page and idly wait for the words to pop into your head, or that you should watch TV until something occurs to you. I am simply saying that you should be patient (while you are writing) with yourself and the Muses because the words are there.
2. Write
   • This probably seems fairly obvious, and it is. But hear me out… you have to write. The worst thing you can do is stare at the blank page for hours while making zero progress. So write something… anything. Even if you end up with a single word after four hours, it’s still one word.
3. Be Kind to Yourself
   • While I fully believe you must try… I also think you must be kind to yourself and know that some days are just zero-word days. If you have put in as much effort as you can, then that’s all you can do. Just try again tomorrow.

These are pretty simple suggestions, but I think they are all important. So, next time you face the blank page, don’t sweat. Be patient, be kind to yourself, and write!

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