I had a small revelation today. I was awoken multiple times by my infant foster sister crying, begging for things she had no words for, but needed (or felt she did). All she could do was get my attention using any means possible, in this case, her voice. It was then up to me to figure out what she needed in order to be satisfied. Then, once she was settled, hopefully I would be as well.
First drafts, or even the beginnings of writing in general, are a lot like infants, are they not? We don't know what they want until they get our attention and manage to drag us away from what was occupying our minds before. Only then, sitting down and looking at the blank screen or the empty notebook page, do we actually try to figure out what the book, article, or whatever type of writing we are doing, is trying to say.
Once you give the draft the attention that it wants, it will leave you alone for a while to do other things. Yet, one thing is for certain - a blank page will always come back to call for you again, most times during the least opportune time! What does it want? What is it trying to tell you? Only you can figure that out.
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