I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels this way sometimes. I just sat down at the computer to write a blog post, and within seconds my mind had gone completely blank. I stared at the “Your Post Title” block at the top of the page, and the two giant white block for writing, and absolutely nothing came to mind. Absolutely nothing.

So I started writing anyway. During my freshman year at BYU I had a strikingly similar experience as part of the writing class all students are required to take. We were assigned to write a narrative about some experience in our lives. With no more guidance than that, I sat a computer for a long time coming to the realization that nothing terribly interesting had ever happened to me.

So as I sat looking at the white page Word gave me, I just started writing about the assignment. I wrote about the story I started writing before realizing it was too boring. I wrote about the time I spent staring at the blank screen. I wrote about the inspiration to start writing about writing. And slowly but surely I filled the pages. That paper was the best grade I got in that class. I have my doubts that this will be the best blog post I ever write. I really hope not.

I learned something about myself that day. I learned that I really can’t stand a blank page. I’ve found the same over and over again with writing conference papers. Starting from scratch sucks. Getting those first few paragraphs written down is important for me, as it makes the whole experience seem less daunting.

Considering I restarted this blogging effort 3 days ago and I’m already struggling, I know this is going to be hard. But I also know it will be worth it.