Fill A Blank Page With Words

 

Blank Page

The first day of the month feels like a blank page to be filled in by you. So does each Monday. It's the beginning of the week, and writers can start putting words on that page. Today is Monday. So, what are you going to write first on your clean white paper (or screen)?

Will you continue with a work in progress, or will you begin a new project today? Will you outline a new story or book? Might you pen a family story? Or a new personal essay? Maybe you'll write a poem today. As long as several pages or as short as a haiku. 

It doesn't matter what you write on this first day of the week. What's important is that you do write something before the day is finished. I like beginnings, and Monday always feels like a new start to me. 

If you've had an idea swirling in your head, this would be a fine time to start writing. Last week is done, this one only beginning. Take advantage of it.

Sometimes, when we look at a blank page, we feel every bit as blank as it looks. We want to write, but what to write is our biggest question of the day. That old 'writers' block' term could be applied here, but I prefer to call it 'waiting for words.' That shows a little more hope, I think. You know those words will arrive, but you're not quite sure when. 

Put this first day of the week to good use. Fill that blank page with words.

Writers and Dream Projects

 

"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." You probably are not surprised to learn that this quote was from Walt Disney, the top dream maker ever. 

If you have a dream about a project in your writing world, what do you do? Keep dreaming about it? Talk yourself out of it? Plunge ahead and make it happen?

When we have a big project like a book or a series of books or a series of anthologies as our goal, it can seem overwhelming. Different people will approach their dream in various ways. 

Let me tell you about a writer I knew several years ago. She came up with the idea of having a conference for writers from all over the country here in our town of about 50,000 people. Her dream was to call it "Small Town Mystery Conference." When she tossed out her idea to a small group of writers, our jaws dropped and we stared at her. The quieter we were, the more vocal she became about how it would work. She had an answer for every objection she voiced.

Lo and behold, Marilyn's dream became a reality. We did have the conference with top name mystery writers as speakers. People did come from around the country, and the whole thing was such a success that we repeated it for another two years. 

It was Marilyn's dream, but it took a village to make it happen. It took a Treasurer who kept putting the clamps on spending and a group of writers working hard for over a year. Her enthusiasm for the project rubbed off on the rest of the committee. The whole episode reminded me of the movie "Field of Dreams." 'Build it and they will come.' Marilyn engineered the building of the conference and they definitely 'did come.' More than once, committee members thought she was crazy to think we could make this happen. How wrong we all were.

That experience taught me that no dream is too big to pursue if you truly believe in what you're going after. You might need some help to achieve it, but that's alright. There are dreams that are strictly individual projects, while others require a group of people to achieve. 

Do the dreams of all writers come true? Of course not. Some end up in total disaster or a huge disappointment. There's nothing wrong with that. You know you tried. Consider people who are inventors. We all know they invent myriad numbers of gadgets before they hit on the one that is a success. 

If your dream project doesn't work the first time, try again with a different angle. I have a feeling that Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen dreamed about starting the Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies for a long time. They probably hit some brick walls before their dream became a reality. Even though they are no longer the publishers, that series is still very popular. Their dream lived on.

If you're passionate about this dream project you have, you'll persevere and have the patience to keep working until you see it to fruition. Reach for the stars, grab one, and hold on. 

Possibility In The Morning? Hopefully!

  Isn't this a great poster? It fit right in with what has been in my mind since last night. I managed to find some real inspiration for revising something that I'd written quite a few weeks ago. It went through my critique group. They had a lot of praise and a few suggestions to make it even better. I read those critiques over again last night and was itching to get going on the revisions.

But it was after ten o'clock and my brain was mighty worn out by then. Even though my heart wanted me to get going on that project immediately, my head told me to forget it. Go to bed and think about it in the morning. I listened to myself and went immediately to bed, did not pass Go and did not collect $200. This was no Monopoly game!

After sleeping a little longer than usual, which surprised me, I awoke to exactly what this poster says--possibility in the morning. My writing project popped into my mind again as I opened my eyes and slipped out of bed. It's followed me through reading the paper, fixing breakfast, making a pumpkin pie and sliding it into the oven. Also beating in the back of my mind as I've checked email this morning and now writing this post.

It's exciting to be inspired and to know that sometime this day I will have time to work on the revisions needed. When morning comes, we have the whole day ahead of us. The smell of coffee and the possibility of what the day will bring are both most welcome.

It's so much better to wake with a plan than to get up in the morning and have no idea what you will be doing all day. If you keep a writing project going at all times, you're going to have one possibility morning after another. Many writing books urge writers to start a new writing project as soon as one is complete. It's good advice. Gives you something to wake up to each day.It's possibility in the morning.

Red Flags And A Boost

Writers often have a burning desire to start a big writing project. Maybe short story writers want to try and write a full-length novel. Or perhaps a novelist has dreamed of writing a screenplay. A poet might want to try his hand at writing  a sci-fi novel.

Maybe you've already written your dream project. But now you stand on the edge of the cliff. Should you try to market it to a publishing house or self-publish? Would it be wise to keep it print only or go right into an ebook? Will any of it work?

Another scenario might go like this: You've been writing short stories for years. You've never had the courage to show them to anyone, let alone try to get them published. You know your work is better now than it was all those years ago. Should you start sharing your work?

Even another could be: You have always wanted to write but life got in your way, and now you're well past the age when most begin to write. There's a new course at your community college that is meant for beginning writers. Do you dare sign up?

We wrestle with these decisions and perhaps we ask ourselves the questions above. Caution, caution, caution with the first three, but look at the last one. I love that line "Give it a try," whispered the heart. It would be worth writing on a large piece of paper and posting near your computer. Whenever those red flags fly in your face, look at it again, and believe it.

Trying doesn't guarantee success, but at least you won't be left wondering what might have happened. So go ahead...Give it a try.