Why I don’t dread the blank page
or Why I came to love the void
The dreaded blank page
All over the internet you can find people who tell you that they are afraid of the blank page. That there is nothing they dread more. That it is even existential dread they suffer in face of that blinding white from the screen, that judging matt white surface under their pen.
The page is like a white sea to drown in, like a bright version of the void, sucking out creativity and ideas until there is nothing left but our fears.
It’s all in your mind
It is all in our heads, of course. The blank page does nothing but trigger our fears of failing, our fears of being not good enough, our fear of delivering something we cannot be proud of. All these fears, all these thoughts are brought to the surface by the blank page, they fill the canvas before us with everything we don’t want and therefore block out everything we would love to be on that page.
It is as if we were painting on a mirror, which reflects ourselves, every ounce of fear or impostor syndrome we brought to the project, until we fill that mirror with paint and create a picture we like better than that reflection.
It is our fear of failing at painting pictures with our words that lets us dread the blank page, this first step. If we don’t start, we can’t fail, can we?
Don’t fear the void
But yes, not starting is the first and gravest failure of them all. Without making that first step, we miss our chance. The void of the page, seemingly draining us of all hope and creativity, is nothing to be feared, but to be embraced!
It is a friendly void, waiting to be filled by you, and it appreciates every word you give, wears them like jewels, and never gets angry when you take them away again. (Yes, I too have deleted whole chapters in the past).
It is always there for you, listening, and giving you more space for your ever growing ideas, no matter how much you need.
The void loves you! Don’t be afraid of it — it never gave you reason to fear it, did it?
It’s full of stars…
The blank page is full of chances, of endless possibilities, and is only one step away from universes to be created. It has the capacity to be filled with stars, shining bright, burning fast, waiting for your imagination to fuel them. Every thought, every idea, every scene you create on this blank page — it is worth the time. Either by honing your craft, by exploring your thoughts or developing your ideas. Or by creating something you want to share. No written word is ever wasted.
You can’t imagine how often I took a page with two or three sentences on it and tore it out of my notebook, to start with a blank page. I needed the possibilities, the fresh start. I needed a new void to fill, not tainted with the lines I wrote before. Room for new words, new lines. A filled page has value, but a blank page has endless potential!
There is no blank page
Whenever you face a blank page and freeze in fear of it, remember — there is no bank page. It is already filled with promises from your future self, words in you that only have to find their way onto the paper. It is not the blank page blocking your progress — it is you, holding back, that keeps it from revealing its true self — a page filled with dreams, with visions, with realities. Stop holding back. Realise the truth. There is no blank page.
Let your words spill. Like a painter, sploshing a whole can of paint on the canvas, do not care for the perfect outcome, but for a base on which to improve and reiterate upon.
By typing your first word, your first sentence, the blank canvas is gone, and you are free and can soar like a bird along the cliff.
Whatever goes on that page — it is not your last arrow, not your only chance. It is one of many, and each is full of hope, full of learning. Do not fear the blank page, embrace it. Maybe you will rewrite the first line you put on it, maybe more than once.
But the only sure way to fail is by not writing it at all.
I should know. I failed for a long time, over 15 years. I was sure the blank page would have some harsh words for me, abandoning it for so long.
But it only smiled and two words appeared on it — welcome back!
