The Blank Page

It's nearly 2013, which means the New Year's Revisions Conference is almost here. But it also means turning a new page on the calendar.

Writers often say that you can't revise a blank page, but on a calendar, the blank pages are the only ones we can change. The future is ours to write, shape, change as we will, even as events and forces change us. It is the past we cannot revise.

Serial writers -- from Dickens to TV series to comics -- may have a plan, but they write and publish as they go. That's how life works too -- we're always fast-drafting. Hopefully we get better at it as we learn from mistakes.

And as 2013 approaches and 2012, my page looks very blank. How will I fill it? What will I write? I'm not even sure of the genre. What career moves will I make? It's clear that "career" for now is something that exists alongside my writing, and that's a blank page too.

I'm proud of the page I wrote in 2012. I published a book,  signed with an agent, wrote some new manuscripts, and returned to on-site employment after years of freelancing. Mostly importantly, I spent another wonderful year with my daughters, husband, and family, and that's what I'll remember when the calendar is 50 years advanced. 

So bring on the blank page. It's not empty. It's unmarred, unspoiled. It's unwritten, and I'm ready to write it.

In Operation Awesome News: 

Get ready now for the Critique Partner Match-up on January 3rd, leading into our New Year's Revisions Conference on the 4th, 5th, and 6th. 

Not to mention a January Mystery Agent Contest on January 1st. If your page is blank now, it soon won't be!