What is it about the blank page?
When you’re trying to write, it stares back at you with a cold, soulless glare.
This encounter terrifies most people. They’re intimidated by the blank page. They assume whatever they write on it will be awful. They’re convinced people will laugh at them. This fear gives them writer’s block, and they can’t bring themselves to put any words down.
For others, the blank page is exciting. It’s a doorway to a wonderful world of the imagination. The possibilities are endless! They can write all day, filling page after formerly blank page with whimsical musings that can make people laugh, cry, and grip the edge of their seats.
The terrified people don’t produce much work. The excited people produce all the world’s screenplays, novels, and great works of art.
What’s the critical difference between the two?
It’s not a big difference. We can all be in the second group with just a little shift, and we can bid a fond farewell to our fear of the blank page.
You’ll find the simple solution in my week’s work, posted below. It’s a new chapter draft for my Creativity Machine book called “The Blank Page.”
This rough draft is my accomplishment for the week, so I’m posting it here. It’s not much, but it’s what I managed to get done. Every week at this time, I post my week’s work and ask that you do the same.
This makes us accountability buddies, and this is a powerful way to stay productive and achieve your creative goals.
This service is for paid subscribers only. So if you’re a free reader, I’d glad to have you, but I have to say, I could be doing so much more for you! Consider upgrading for the absurdly low rate of less than $8/month to get in on this weekly opportunity to get your very own creative coach.
Why should you do this? Well, my students win a lot of Emmys. They write bestselling books. They live the creative life they designed for themselves. Sound good to you? Become a founding member and get a half-hour one-on-one coaching session with me to kick things off—that’ll inspire you!
For now, here’s the chapter. Let me know in the comments what you got done this week!
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