You Can't Edit a Blank Page

By: Kylie Daniell

So often I sit down at my laptop or in front of a journal with a fresh blank page and I think to myself, well I have absolutely nothing to write. So instead of writing I spend fifteen minutes staring at a blank screen or page before declaring I have writer's block and shoving my writing away. I want to propose an idea; writer's block is not a lack of something to write, it is the fear that what you have to say is going to be bad. There is never a time you sit down and have nothing to say

Writing is an art form, like many that takes years to master. You only get better with practice and I can’t think of a single person who is good at their art form the very first time they tried. Luckily for writers we have editing. The caveat here is that if you never write anything down you have nothing to edit. 

American Writer Jodi Picoult says “You can always edit a bad page, you can’t edit a blank page”. Jodi is a very successful writer with 28 short stories and novels published, as well as contributions to several issues of Wonder Woman. In a FAQ section of her website Jodi says “writing is grunt work, you need to have self-preservation and motivation…talent is the smallest part of it.” The old saying, practice makes perfect has never been truer for an art form

Author Jeff Goins, an American writer who has published several books on writing says that “I think writer's block is a bad name for a number of real problems facing writers most notably which is fear.” Stephen King, Alexander McCall Smith, David Burkus, and Malcolm Gladwell all share this sentiment. 

The thing most authors agree on is that writer's block is simply the fear that what you write isn’t going to be good. Perfectionism is, as many say, “a killer of creativity.” Perfectionism can lead to a number of problems that affect creativity such as: Negative thinking, fewer original ideas because you rely on familiar strategies, and one of the hardest things to overcome.

Procrastination. 

I have never run into a group of artists who hate practicing their craft as much as writers do. I am subject to this as well, there have been times in my writing journey where I haven’t written a single word in months. I become so terrified that I refuse to pick up the pen. Acclaimed novelist Karen Russell was quoted on The Daily Beast stating “Writing badly is also hard—you have to give yourself permission to write badly, just to get something down.” It doesn’t matter what you are writing so long as you are writing. No one ever has to see the first draft of anything you write. Personally, I am perfectly content if the first draft of my novel sits in a box under my bed and rots for eternity.

So the question left is how do you write when you know it’s going to be bad. My writing process is probably similar to most. I find some good music, be it country, pop, or classical, whatever I feel like listening to that day. I make sure there are minimal distractions around me and that the music I picked isn’t too loud. Then I find my idea or train of thought and I just start writing. I discovered a tip a long time ago that has worked really well for me; start writing with a fully charged laptop and stop writing to take a break when the laptop dies. The most important thing to remember when trying to get around whatever is keeping you from writing is that everyone starts somewhere. 

Write anything and write all the time. Don’t let anything get in your way. Give yourself permission to be bad and never forget that you can always edit. Practice makes perfect, the world needs your story.