I cannot sit down to write and think of.. nothing. It's never happened. There's always something.
Unless, of course, you're trying to make something that isn't there appear. This came to me a couple of weeks ago, and I'm keepin' it forever:
There are no blank pages, many are simply undeveloped.
Remember "old school" film development? Unless we're professional photographers or die-hard artists, most of us never enter the world of film development anymore. Digital is great, but, remember? There was something there; it was hard to see; mostly outlines, dark and light, but not detail visible without light and magnification. And we hoarded them like gold; the film negative.
I look at a blank page, and that's kind of what I see. The moment you begin to write, it develops.
Just as lots of the old photos I took ended up "buy backs," ('cause it's never been my gift!), a lot of times I'm not thrilled with the results of a writing session. But that doesn't mean it's not there, and not valid for some purpose, even if it's only to keep us writing; attempting, moving forward, developing. And, it also doesn't mean it will never develop pleasingly; save it for later, and sometimes the results are surprising! That's one advantage we writers have over film; the editing is a whole lot simpler.
Writers should never not write; I tried it. I didn't like it. It's miserable.
A writer not writing is like running your car without oil. To pretend there's "nothing" there is unfaithfulness at it's worst; to yourself, and to the craft. The lack is not of creativity; rather, of your commitment. If you have the gift, you have the fuel, the lube the negative.
All you have to do is use it.
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