Don't Fear the Blank Screen - Be a Miner

Staring at a Blank Screen

Staring at a blank screen does nothing for me. In fact, I recommend against it. In my way of thinking, blank things encourage more blank things. When I want my head filled with information and ideas, not with blank, emptiness I do this.

I read my archives — the articles and comments — to see what’s missing.

Mining the Archives

It works every time. Archives are like a idea-rich mine. Somewhere in a past article I come across something I’ve left out . . . or something that I know now that I didn’t know then. Bam! It’s the seed of a new article and there I am ready to write all over again.

My blank screen is blank no longer. Ideas were waiting for me right in the blog under that blank screen. I always find more than one nugget to get me started. Blog mining is a great way to get a post started.

–ME “Liz” Strauss