{"id":3506,"date":"2015-06-19T18:30:09","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T18:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karrenrenzsena.com\/?p=3506"},"modified":"2016-01-24T12:50:51","modified_gmt":"2016-01-24T12:50:51","slug":"conqueringtheblankpage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/karrenrenzsena.com\/lab\/2015\/06\/19\/conqueringtheblankpage\/","title":{"rendered":"Conquering the Blank Page (Because You’re a Warrior, Yo!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"karren-renz-sena-on-writing01\"<\/a>You\u2019ve been staring at it four hours, and the infuriating little cursor just keeps blinking at you, taunting you, mocking you as it appears and disappears on your screen. You know\u00a0in your heart that words must spill over, and that the damned cursor must be pushed farther and farther along\u00a0the page by the words you write, not a single one comes out.<\/p>\n

The beginning is always the hardest, isn\u2019t it? You\u2019ve got that story down pat on your head. You\u2019ve finished your novel and killed off as many characters as your black heart could kill, but when you sit down to actually write that novel, nothing would come out<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Dear heavens, it happens to me every single time. All you people who experience the same agony, raise your hands up! (But read first). In my mind, my heart, and my very soul, The Lost Chronicles of Eden<\/em><\/a><\/strong> is done. I\u2019ve killed some, saved some, maimed some, but dude, every stinking time I sit down to actually write the story that demands to be written, I cannot. I cannot. I CANNOT. \/slasheswrist<\/p>\n

But we can do this! Lots of veteran (and not-so-veteran, like me) writers have a lot of advise, and if you Google \u2018how to start writing\u2019, you\u2019d get a thousand results in less than a two seconds (depending on the speed of your Internet connection\u2014mine sucks, if you must know). They\u2019ve shared lots, and but I also want to share with you what works best for me.<\/p>\n

WHAT WOULD HELP YOU BEGIN?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

My professor called it \u2018pressure writing\u2019<\/u><\/strong>, because you\u2019re going to write under pressure. (THANKS A LOT, GENIUS.) No, really<\/p>\n

The thing is, in pressure writing<\/strong>, you will be required to write anything and everything that will come to your mind about a particular topic within a specified timeframe, usually 3-5 minutes. And because you\u2019re operating on limited time, you don\u2019t get the chance to think much about the topic, you just have to let the thoughts flow freely from your mind to your hand. \u00a0You also don\u2019t have the chance to judge\u2014your thoughts or your words. The aim of the exercise is to tap into your subconscious and force you to practically vomit all the thoughts in your head without discrimination, without judgment, without restraint.<\/p>\n

See, your conscious mind is super judgmental. It feels like it knows everything, so it makes you criticize your work even before you start doing it. The purpose of this exercise is to let your subconscious mind, which holds all things wonderful and amazing and spectacular, to come out.<\/p>\n

There are several ways<\/strong>\u00a0to approach pressure writing, and I\u2019ll share a few with you.<\/p>\n

Listing<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n