by Merrianna Mutton

Created on: April 28, 2009

The plague of the blank page. It manifests itself in different ways.

You're sitting there, staring at the blank page with your pencil or pen hovering over it, or at the blank screen with the cursor blinking at you audaciously. What do you do?

Suppose you give yourself a pep talk. You're going to show that blankness who's boss! You're going to fill it to the brim with words and stuff some more down its throat for good measure! So. Did that work? Chances are you're now staring at a blank page and feeling like you'd rather go for a run.

Suppose you decide to plan what you're going to say. You think about it, mulling over a phrase, deciding exactly which words best convey what you're trying to say. You memorize these phrases so you won't forget them before you can commit them to paper or computer. So, tell me: is the page still blank?

Maybe you've sometimes sat down to write and your mind, after noting the blank space to be filled, promptly began to study anything handy: your to-do list, the outdoors, a piece of lint...

Writing is not a science, so there can't be one simple answer for everyone, because not everyone has exactly the same problem. You have to figure out for yourself what's holding you back. But these are common problems, at least for me: under-thinking, over-thinking, and distraction.

What can you do about these things? I think the people suffering from these problems can each learn something from one another.

The Under-thinker could learn something from the Over-thinker about planning and something from the distracted person about chilling out. (Though while brief moment of distraction can sometimes help, make sure it's just a moment.)

The Over-thinker might learn something from the Under-thinker about not caring about perfection the first time around. (Perfection, in most cases, should be left until the editing stage.)

And of course the distracted person might learn something from the other two about thinking about the job at hand.

Now, I represent these problems as separate personalities, but I've experienced them all at one time or another and any combination of them could occur. So what should you do?

Have an idea of what you're going to say, and use that as a guideline while you write. And use pauses in your work to get a better idea of what to say next. In other words, everything in moderation.

Now, as I said, there's no cure-all for everyone. Take me for instance: I'm a dreamer as well as analytical, and I find that listening to music (even singing along) as I write distracts me enough that I can concentrate. But I know some people might find it easier to work in a less distracting environment, even a near-vacuum, creatively speaking. Figure out what works for you.

And finally, that dreaded word discipline. I know, I don't like it either, but without some kind of discipline, every time we think about writing we'll be reaching for the dog's leash or the car keys. I'm not saying a change of scenery can't be helpful, but remember moderation.

And finally, love writing. Don't just like it, love it, and you should be able to get over these little rough spots without giving up.

Learn more about this author, Merrianna Mutton.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.