The Blank Page is Only Scary When You Write for Others
When I write for myself, I write for others.
Not that I’ve overcome my fear of the blank page, but I did something else.
Something realistic.
Here’s how I now see the blank page:
The blank page is always an opportunity to figure out what I’m thinking and not what I’ve known. Whether in high-stakes or low-stakes moments; a substack note, a short medium post (I like posts short), an email, or even a text to a friend (iMessage, WhatsApp).
I lead with curiosity and I am amazed at what new things I learn from myself on the page.
There’s a toxic belief that has circulated online for decades:
“Ask the audience what they want, then give it to them.”
Really? An audience that can’t decide between bacon or pancake for breakfast and will just starve altogether because of indecision?
I’m not sorry. I won’t ask an audience.
I’ll keep showing up, like I did with this post, to the blank page, living with curiosity. Writing for others would keep me in a constant loop of “what people think.”