How to Get Over Your Fear of the Blank Page Forever
When you first start writing, the idea of opening a new document can be intimidating. Here’s how to get around that.
I used to think that writers were these weird creatures who somehow managed to get words down on the page in the perfect order. They were able to synthesize these amazing, brilliant sentences day after day, night after night.
And maybe some people can write brilliant ledes right off, but that doesn’t necessarily make it better. What truly matters is the end result. I’m trying to keep this in mind as I work through my debut novel, a story in the epic fantasy genre.
Staring down the blank page for my manuscript was a bit intimidating, and I avoided even starting for longer than I care to admit.
To be fair: It was a lot to deal with. Not only did I have to create a story out of almost nothing (as it happens, I’m not much of a plotter), I also had to immerse the reader in a complex, far-reaching world of my own creation.
But my fear was more about the ‘what if it’s terrible?’ question than the ‘can I even finish this?’ one that tends to trip up new writers. Still, that moment of…
