Overcome Empty Page Syndrome: Writing Tips to Complete Your Draft
Just as sculptures mold clay, a writer sculpts a world of words
Source: Wikimedia.org
I write because it gives me purpose and because it gives me purpose and makes me happy. Ever since I learned to read, I’ve thought there was something noble and mysterious about writing, about people who could do it well — writers who could take people like me out of themselves and get into other people’s minds.
The writing process
So I sit down every day at the same time, turn on the computer and bring up a blank page. And maybe I’ll stare at the screen for about an hour, perhaps even begin rocking like a crazed person, or gaze out of the window, yawn, and hate myself. And then I try to hush my overactive mind.
You know what I’m talking about, the damn voices of anxiety, judgment, guilt. All in all, a feeling of self-disdain.
The first words are the hardest — a slog. Words drip with difficulty onto the page — often, they seem to be the wrong ones, in the wrong order.
Eventually, I manage to clear up room in my clogged brain and begin to compose sentences, string those words with persistence and faith. But the horror of horrors, a bad first draft. Rubbish.
And now I suffer from self-loathing. Or I might even experience a jittery form of existential dread, convinced that life is meaningless, that I’m unloved, ready to destroy everything and start from scratch. Yet I can’t because I’m too defeated to have the energy to think coherently. Like most people, I feel compelled to excuse, explain or confess to a defeatist attitude.
Miracles do happen, though
The next day I find myself at the desk staring blankly at the pages I scribbled yesterday. And there, amongst the pile of rubbish, perched on page two, is a paragraph with all sorts of sounds and voices that speak to me in brilliant colors. I might not care about page one or page number four, but I’ve found the nugget I didn’t see the previous day. Something I can build on, and I’m now off and running.
Just as sculptures mold clay, a writer sculpts a world of words
Good writers play with language. Can a writer affect a reader just by words alone? Too often, new writers have a superficial insight into the way in which the use of words and phrases can influence a reader. A good writer will draw you into the story through a range of elements, especially plot, characterization, dialogue, and description. The quality of the writing will certainly be so adept that the words will become invisible, and you will quickly forget all the worries of your life and readily lose yourself in the world of the story.
Writing is not necessarily about fancy words, metaphors, or puns. Rather words and images that transport readers from the here and now and place readers where you want them to be. The great novelist Joseph Conrad once described his task this way: “By the power of the written word to make you hear, to make you feel — it is, before all, to make you see.”
I can’t give you a magic potion that will answer your empty-page syndrome. But I can tell you that you are not alone. Even professional writers admit that an empty page is intimidating because they feel the pressure to develop something original. It’s not uncommon for authors to feel stuck in a fixed mindset and be plagued by limiting beliefs. It’s natural to have doubts and fears, especially regarding creative work. The key is challenging those beliefs and shifting your mindset, as they might hinder you and contribute to this fear of the blank page.
Tools of the trade
I’ve found tools that help me organize my time and motivate me to write. When I use my tools, I can create habits that allow me to set achievable goals and keep from feeling like a total screw-up. For instance, reading good writing by others provides a model for learning to write in a way that arouses the reader’s interest, imagination, or emotions. It also gives me that little push to continue writing.
Chapters — Don’t worry about sectioning your story into chapters when penning your first draft. Chances are high that whatever you write in your first draft will get mixed up, divided, and added to other sections if not tossed. Wait until you’re in the editing phase to think about the structure of your story. You’re most effective at correcting flow, pacing, and logic during the editing phase. Once you know the basic story, the characters, and the main plot points, you can organize your work into sections that complement the reader’s journey.
Outline — Creating an outline or jotting down some notes is an approachable way to fill a blank page. One thought leads to another and then another, and before you know it, the muse shows up wondering what’s going on. You know your writing isn’t permanent, nor will it be seen by anyone, so you don’t have to impress anybody, and as a result, you’re free to create.
Time management — Another good way to help me propel forward in my writing is time management. Time Management is challenging for a lot of people, including myself. But if you are more like me, you might lose yourself in a TikTok hole while you sip your morning coffee. Half the morning is gone, and you haven’t written one word. There are only a number of hours in the day, and what we do with those hours can make the difference between getting our books or project written and only thinking about writing. There’s no one-size-fits-all advice sheet for time management, but a good starting point is to review whether your current activity is bleeding out your time.
Journal — One go-to tool for time management is a bullet journal. A bullet journal is your personalized planner, journal, list holder, etc., all wrapped up in one. I’ve gone back and forth on consistently using one, but I find that my days are better planned out and more productive when I do. You can use dollar store notebooks, pencils, and highlighters to design fancy templates on the computer to print off, and the important thing is to use it.
Start with the familiar — Some writers start at the beginning and work their way to the end, leading to writer’s block and a lot of “blank-page syndrome” … this makes things challenging when trying to give background on a story that isn’t fully formed. The more efficient place to start would be the part that you, as the writer, are most familiar with.
Music — Music is one of the things that work best for me. Music can do wonders in keeping you focused. It drowns out the background thoughts that would otherwise distract me from the writing I am trying to focus on. Some people work best with the TV going in the background.
Scrivener — Some writers I know love to use Scrivener. Me? I don’t love it. The learning curve makes it too tedious to use. But for those who love to use it, Scrivener is a writing program that allows you to organize writing projects into chapters, add research, look up names, and create random notes to attach to documents. This happens all in the same place, in the same program.
Critique group — Writing critique groups are another way to get feedback and motivate you to write and finish your project. I’ve belonged to a critique group for ten years but decided that too many opinions confused me more than helped me. Now I have one critique partner, and that works better for me. However, having writers to write with or share your writing with is very important. The ideal is to find a group that meets weekly or bi-weekly so you are motivated to have something new to share with them regularly.
Parting thoughts
I have shared a few ways to help you with that glaring white page. There’s also a lot of writing advice available online and in books, something for everyone. But if you start to feel like you have to do everything and implement every piece of advice, that will overwhelm you.
First drafts are all about passion. You’re not thinking much, just enjoying the process of writing. A first draft’s function is to present on the page, to exist; there are no mistakes, and it’s all about flow.
Just as sculptors don’t beat themselves up about an unformed chunk of clay, so we writers need to learn to accept imperfection and even admire our mish-mash for what it is: a draft.
Happy writing. 😊