Friday, August 21, 2009

The blank page? Or clay to mold?

Have you ever stared at a blank, white piece of paper? Or a blank Word document? What do you see? Are you an artist? Do you see the masterpiece drawing dying to come out of you? Are you a writer? Are characters badgering you to jump onto the page? Once there, do the characters behave? Do they grow like you planned? Or are they like your real life children who often choose their own paths? There's so much we can do with a blank page, or a piece of clay. There are so many ways in which to use it (origami, paper airplanes, and paper wad missiles aside). Sometimes the stark white page intimidates me. I stare at it...and only see a white void, empty of all thought. Scary... It gives me the shudders just thinking about it. Most of the time, however, it's exciting. I can go anywhere in the universe with that white page. It doesn't judge me. It doesn't talk back. It just lets me cover it with whatever I desire.

6 comments:

Molly Daniels said...

I have a paper obsession. I love blank journals, stationary, etc. And had an eye-opening moment two years ago: I was in an art store and the owner and I struck up a conversation. She gets excited by seeing wire, stones, or unpainted furniture (she's an artist and jewelry designer) and sees nothing interesting about blank paper. But when I revealed my love of journals, and that I didn't consider myself 'artsy', she laughed.

'You're artsy in the fact you have an imagination based on words, not pictures, and the fact you get excited by the blank page proves it. You want to fill it with words the way I see murals on blank walls.'

Yes, there are days when that blank document is intimidating, but sometimes I just have to write in longhand.

Regina Carlysle said...

That blank page always intimidates the hell out of me. But yet, I'm fascinated by it. Go figure.

Unknown said...

I never have a blank page as I have always notes on several books ahead of the one I've just written. It's a business. You have to be prepared and stay focused

Unknown said...

I have several story ideas archived, too. But sometimes a particular book won't cooperate. Worse, sometimes my muse takes a sick day.

Wendi Zwaduk and Megan Slayer said...

I'm goofy. i love blank pages because then I look around me and use them for the ideas to fill the page.

But I have a handful of little notebooks where I write down ideas too. Never know when I'll use them, but it never hurts to have them.

The Bumbles said...

I don't ever let it stay blank. I have to dive right in immediately and fill it with something - even nonsense - just so it looks like something productive is happening - tricks my mind into creativity!

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