Write and just writing

So many people say that they are afraid of the blank page and they can’t figure out what to write about. Maybe that is the problem, they are trying too hard to think about what they should be writing instead of just putting words down onto paper.

Recently I gave myself a challenge and that was to try and just write for 30 minutes and see how many words that I could get down onto paper. It is amazing to see how much writing you can do in half an hour when you put your mind to it. It does mean that you are going to have to ignore a few things for that time but it can also make you feel so much better when you see the results. When I say ignore, I mean you are going to have to get away from social media and let those emails just wait for 30 minutes before you jump and deal with them.

My challenge for everyone is to try and write for just 30 minutes and it doesn’t matter what you write about. You can write about your family, the weather or anything but try and spend 30 minutes of just putting words onto paper. You might be very surprised with how many words you can generate in that short of a time period.

When I challenged myself I didn’t have a topic that I wanted to write about I just started with what was on my mind and then it continued and I even wrote some of this blog during that half an hour. Yes, my challenge to myself resulted in me figuring out that walking away from all the other distractions can help me figure out things that I want to write about and how I would like to help others deal with the fear of the blank page. I did deal with the fear of the blank page for quite a while and then I slowly started to see that a page doesn’t last being blank for too long. Most days I start my journal with some odd comments but it breaks the log jam that is in my head and it lets me write. People don’t see what my journal says because that is what helps me figure out my day, my feelings and even issues.

Being able to see that you can write can make a world of difference to how you see things. Yes, the challenge helped me today because I hadn’t been writing much and maybe the challenge will help you. For me the challenge helped me write almost 1,600 words in that half an hour. You may find that you can get just 200 words written but at least it is something written and that page is no longer blank. Remember, the first edit of what you write is just that it’s the first attempt and then you can go back if someone else is going to read it and make it clearly.

So now that you have finished reading my blog I want you to spend 30 minutes and try and just write. It doesn’t matter the topic or anything else, it just is some time to put some words down onto paper or onto the computer page and see how it makes you feel. You could be very surprised and see that you have a lot of things you want to write about so go ahead and write.