Anyone who writes, whether a little or a lot, knows the scene: you sit there, a blank document open on your computer screen, your cursor silently blinking away, and your mind a complete blank. This scenario also plays out similarly (minus the cursor) if you prefer old-fashioned pen and paper or keep a journal like I do. You have a general sense of what you sat down to craft, but how in the heck do you extract it from your mind?
The trick to turning that blank page into something you want to share with others (or even just yourself) isn’t to obsess over finding the perfect words from the outset but to focus on getting words on the page — any words. More often than not, that means forgetting about the brilliant opening line that popped into your head when you were driving that you thought you would remember; instead let yourself just unleash with a satisfactory brain dump. What you will find is that once that blank page is full of gibberish, “good stuff” will actually start to flow from it.
Another way to tackle a blank page is to architect an outline. Once you have that framed out, go in and flesh out each section, adding here and there as words and sentences formulate for you. Repeat as necessary until you have backfilled most of your outline. Mapping out the overarching headers and golden nuggets you want as the crux of whatever you are writing tends to be an easier route than trying to take a straight path from beginning to end, hoping it all choreographs seamlessly and makes sense to the reader.
A blank page presents itself as an opportunity. It can be scary to start something new, especially a new writing project. On occasion, I stare at the blank page and suddenly feel overwhelmed by the prospect of it all. However, when you can view a blank page as a mere “let’s do this” point, then you are less likely to feel intimidated by it. Rather than fearing it, attempt to embrace it.
The beauty in writing anything (a witty social media post, a hit-the-nail-on-the-head thought leadership piece, a series of attention-grabbing promotional emails, copy for a new or rebranded website or the novel you have been marinating on for years) is that you are gifted with the ability to create as many rough drafts as you need and nothing on the page is final until you decide to make it so. If you decide you don’t like the direction you initially took, you have the power to edit.
For most writers (whether novice or veteran), the process of word work is an iterative one. It’s best to set aside, as you are able, perfectionism and your inner critic. In general, the way to fill a blank page is to simply start writing.