A Blank Page

Last October, one of my nephews commented that he reads my blog and that he liked it.  Then he asked, “How do you come up with this stuff?  Do you just think about stuff and it comes out?”

 

I didn’t really have an answer to that question, and to be honest, I still don’t. 

 

The closest approximation for an answer is that things come to me.  A Blank Page sits in front of me and a thought occurs and I write it down.  I edit like crazy.  I rewrite and I polish.  And still there are times when after I hit the “publish” button, I look back and say to myself, “I could have said it better.  I could have said it this way instead.”

 

But it all starts with A Blank Page.

 

As I said, a thought occurs and I write it down.  Might be from something I had heard along the way.  Many times it comes from something I had read.  I do much of my first and second drafts in my head.  I call it prewriting.  Some might call it thinking.  However it occurs, it percolates and rattles around until it’s time to write and fill up that Blank Page.

 

There are some pages that are better than others.  Some pages resonate better with the reader.  That’s okay, because the purpose of any writing is to entertain, to make one pause, to make one consider and think.  Hopefully, to help someone look at life and live life a bit differently, a bit more positively. 

 

I think it comes down to this . . .

 

We’re all faced with A Blank Page from time to time, and perhaps, more times than we recognize, than we realize. 

 

A friend’s son just got married.  One of Emily’s friends heads off to college today.  Hannah heads back to school on Tuesday.  Teachers and students fill classrooms shortly, while some already have.  Several of my teachers don’t head back to the classroom because they entered retirement.  Em has her first soccer tourney of the year today.  Hannah’s last work day at the pool was last evening.  Several of my writer friends have a book launch coming up.  There are so many other beginnings and starts.

 

All Blank Pages.  Ready for the first words to be written.  Our words.  Your words.

 

Each morning is A Blank Page fresh and clean and waiting for your first words.  Each morning is A Blank Page waiting for you to act, to react, to write, to speak, to do.  A fresh beginning.  A new start.

 

What’s nice about A Blank Page is that it can be edited, changed, rewritten. 

 

Life, all of life, can be edited, changed and rewritten.  We’re not stuck.  Really we’re not.  Just hit the back space.  Each of us has that opportunity each morning, each day, and many times during the day.  Just hit the back space and edit and rewrite.

 

I think the key to any Blank Page is to not waste the opportunity as it presents itself.

 

Sometimes an opportunity, the right opportunity, the best opportunity only comes about once.  Don’t waste it, especially when it comes to those who you love, who are near to you, who need your presence, your touch, your ear.  Those who sometimes need your silence.  Faced with your Blank Page, what will you do with it?  Hmmm?  Up to you . . . to waste or not.  Your words.  Your story.  Your life.  Something to think about . . .

 

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

 

Fellow Readers:

Thank you for taking a shot and spending 99 cents on my debut novel, Taking Lives.  I appreciate it.  I might be biased, but I like the story and I like the characters.  Sorry about the ending.  Okay, not really (he says with a grin).  It sorta, kinda had to happen that way.  You’ll just have to continue the journey as it unfolds to find out what happens next.

 

But thank you for taking that shot and spending 99 cents.  And if you would, those of you who have read it, please leave a review on the Amazon website.  It might help others to take a chance on Taking Lives, too. 
JL