Every time I get a new assignment from a client my first step is usually to open a similar document. Something with the client’s name in the header maybe, or a similar type of work – ad copy, call script, article, or whatever. I quickly do a “file” > “save as…” changing the file name and assuring it’s located in my obsessively organized hard drive file structure. Then I start writing in the document, replace the existing copy with whatever is appropriate. In some cases, I save absolutely nothing from the original file. Which sort of begs the question: “Why do I do this?”
I’ve never really thought about it until today when I opened MS Word and selected “file” > “new.” A daunting plane of bright white assaulted me. I believe I let out an audible gasp. I know I have heard this over and over – that there is nothing more intimidating than a blank page. But I don’t think I realized it was true until today, because I had (brilliantly) avoided the circumstance. I think my subconscious was protecting me all these years.
Obnoxious creative types will probably say there is nothing more alluring or enticing than an unfettered expanse of page, canvass or computer screen. But I think that’s utter crap. Blank pages are frightening. Even for someone who spends all day filling them up.
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