Beginning

Welcome to my blog, thank you for stopping by. If this is your first time to my blog, it's nice to meet you. If you've been here before, welcome back.

My writing journey has begun. The road will have some bumps and detours. I only hope that the first hill is not too high, and the journey is long.














Friday, September 2, 2011

The Blank Page

     Sometimes, I feel intimidated by 'The Blank Page'.  To be honest, I do not have the greatest vocabulary range.  I am always searching to find the 'right words'.  The Dictionary and Thesaurus are my constant staple. 

     Usually, I find that I write my best when I write what I know.  This is my comfort zone.  It is time for me to think out of the box and get out of my comfort zone.  Do you ever feel that, at times, writing can be like trying to push a car uphill, and you are getting nowhere, too fast?  You give it a little push and it quickly rolls back down, or even over you? 

     I read the words of other writers and it seems that their writing flows naturally and effortlessly.  Do the words come so easily to them?  Do they often write outside of their comfort zone?  No more of just writing inside the tiny little box on a page, keeping all of my ideas neatly inside; it's time to get out of that box and use the whole page, filling it with wonderous ideas. 

     So, here goes!  Today, it is time to write, not worry about spelling, not worry about grammar and not worry about making sense.  Just putting words to paper, anything that comes to mind.  If I am willing to endure, it must willing to reciprocate.  I'm going to make every page count. 

     I want to share with all of you a blank page:
    
Posted Image

    Let's get started.  Write that page!  After all, you can't edit a blank page! 

     I can't wait to see how it fills up, I know that we will all fill it with something amazing.  I wish you many happy writings today and every day! 
     

18 comments:

Janet Johnson said...

I remind myself of that rule all the time . . . just write. Don't worry about making it perfect. It really helps me get through those hard moments.

Best of luck filling your blank page!

Doralynn Kennedy said...

I'm glad you got through Irene okay... what a monster that storm was. Since you've admitted it, I will too. I don't have the greatest vocabulary range either. I'm always using the same words. And like you, I stay in my comfort zone and write what I know... which may not be the most popular things to write. I'll work on my blank page today.

Cynthia DiFilippo Elomaa said...

Blank pages are our worst for writers. It's the best feeling when we get those words down!

Abby Fowers said...

I know exactly what you mean. I love it on "Finding Forrester" when Sean Connery tells the kid, "The first draft you write with you heart, the second with your head." I find I want to start editing to quickly and then I want to give up. I am trying not to edit my current WIP until I am done with the first draft!

The East Coaster said...

Janet has the right of it - just write. The fixin' comes later.

Jessie Humphries said...

That blank page is a thing of beauty! So many possibilities.

D. Ann Graham said...

Interesting post, Maeve... but don't forget what you read from other writers has usually gone through the "fixin'" already before you read it. We all start out with a lump of an idea, and -- I don't know about everyone else -- but it always takes me a whole lot of work before I get it shaped into something someone else would even recognize.

But I have a heap of faith in "practice makes perfect," so I keep at it. Mostly because I love the process of finding out what's hiding in that lump in the first place. I'm a terrible pushover for gold fever, too, but that's another subject.

So glad we met, and I can't wait to see what you do with your blank page!

Maeve Frazier said...

Janet - so right!

Doralynn - Hmmm, you may think your vocabulary is limited, but your imagination in YOUR writing is limitless!

Cynthia - beginning is the hardest part, the ending is such pleasure!

East Coaster - Amen!

Maeve Frazier said...

Jessie - Let's get that first page dirtied up!

D. Ann - You are right! It takes a whole lot of work to get it to a point where someone else will read it. I love the gold fever analogy! I, too, am glad we met. So many wonderful people out there with lots of information and great advice.

Patricia T. said...

Like Abby, I will start writing and instead of pushing through and writing down the entire story, no matter how messy it is, I stop and edit. It certainly breaks ths creative juices. Future goal is to just write it down to completion no matter what.

Joanna said...

I am revising at the moment, but how did that blank page go, Maeve?

Kelly Polark said...

I write to get things down then go back to add description and change to more interesting verbs.
Good luck to you and get to that page!

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

The blank page can be intimidating. Sometimes I have to write nonsense just to get started. Like you said--ignore grammar and spelling and just put words on paper.

Rosalind Adam said...

I called by to read your latest blog and instead I sat and read your piece about your mother. It's so moving that I'm now crying. My mum died less than five months ago and I know how much it hurts even though my mum was in her eighties. So sorry you had to go through that pain when you did. Life's so unfair. I'll call back again later to read your blog.

Maeve Frazier said...

Patricia - Good for you! I am looking forward to reading your writing!

Joanna - Good luck with the revising. I find this to be where your creative juices really flow! My blank page has now become the 200 word short fiction for the campaign.

Kelly - I struggle with finding new verbs to use during my revisions. Sometimes, I find that I reuse the same ones. How do you come up with yours?

Lynda - hmmm, I LOVE the outcome of your nonsense start to writing!

Rosalind - Thank you for reading the story of my Mom. I am so sorry for your loss and so recent. No matter how old you Mom is, no time you have with her is ever enough. All I can say is that the memories you will have of her will turn from the tears to memories with smiles. The hurt is always there, it just touches you in a more gentle way. Hugs, Maeve

Maeve Frazier said...

Abby - (sorry thought this already posted). I love that! How can you go wrong if you follow your heart! I can't wait to read your WIP. :)

Stacy S. Jensen said...

Blank pages scare me sometimes. It's random. I wanted to read your post again. (I read it when you first posted it). Right now, I'm about to close the Internet and open a blank page. Needed a bit of encouragement.

Maeve Frazier said...

Stacy - Thanks. Good luck with your blank page.