“Being a writer is a very peculiar sort of a job: it’s always you versus a blank sheet of paper (or a blank screen) and quite often the blank piece of paper wins.” Neil Gaiman
Photo credit: Dariusz Sankowski on Unsplash.
I tried to put my thoughts on paper and then-
my mind ran out of INK.
Tried a Few Writing Strategies
I took myself to a local branch of my county library, which often helps me get my words and sentences flowing, yet nothing new has stuck me in the two hours I have faced the opened notebook.
Well, of course, I saw dozens of new books I want to read. Thought of other things that I need to be doing.
Did not surf the Internet. Did find a title in the online catalogue to reserve. Spoke to a friend and typed a few of his ideas into this blog post.
As much as I joke around and love humor, I must fight to get funny scenes or absurd conversations into my fiction.
Just One of those Days?
- Have you ever been defeated by a paper cut?
- Been driven to hunger as you face the page?
- Imagined you would go crazy staring at a blank screen?
What Habits Help You Start?
At home, I often lock my office door in hopes that I will keep my feet to the creative fire long enough to generate a draft.

Has your mind ever been so blank you couldn’t fill in the blanks?
“No matter how many years I’ve been writing, I still need to remind myself that this is only my first draft and that it’s okay to make mistakes… For now, all that matters is surrendering to the idea and getting those initial words on the page.”
David Morrell
Today, I may not have conquered the empty page but I found several books on writing from the Sonoma County Library. One how to write manual surprised me.
How to Write Like Tolstoy: A Journey into the Minds of Our Greatest Writers. By Richard Cohen, Random House, New York, 2016.

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