My 3-Step Process for Overcoming the Blank Page of a New Writing Project

My biggest and scariest step as a writer is diving into a blank page. After multiple published novels, one would think writing the first page would be like riding a bicycle. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

(How One Photograph Inspired a Novel.)

The first page, the first sentence is the most difficult and takes the longest. Add on the fact that today is the day I decided to expand my wings and do something completely different than all the novels I’d written before. The decision to write a story with a touch of magical realism, a dash of murder mystery, and pinch of romance came barreling down out of nowhere, squeezing out all my other ideas for a next book.

Bailey is a dressmaker with the gift of insight. Just a graze of her client’s skin while doing a dress fitting gives her insight into their secrets and most intense desires. Throw in a bit of history about oil in Oklahoma and there we have it. Had I bitten off more than I could chew? As the blank page stared back at me, I told myself to follow the process. Start with one sentence.

For me, it’s usually the setting. Where is the story taking place? Being able to build the world first and placing the characters in it, makes the blank page less scary and intimidating. In other words, the story setting matters most. Once I know where the story is taking place and who the characters are, the first level of fear has been conquered. 

I knew from the very beginning that The Secret Keeper of Main Street needed to happen in a small town with charm and characters acclimated to the power of mystic energy. This, meant going back to my family’s hometown where elders could simply be in the same room and know what you were thinking. Reading energy, believing in signs and auras were the kinds of things that happened where my grandparents lived. Building relationships based on instinct, or trusting the gut, made decision-making swift and efficient.

The next step is the timeline. We can ultimately make assumptions about the characters and the plot moving forward based on the historical period. Setting the timeline in the 1950s makes the interaction between characters more personal and intimate. No picking up the phone at the drop of a hat. The historical element is, in itself, a character in the story. 

Mystery and magical realism permeate the moment you set foot in Mendol, Oklahoma, in the mid-1950s. My small, quaint town provides the perfect backdrop for a bridal gown boutique, where prospective brides journey for miles to be pinned and, hopefully, touched by Bailey Dowery, the gifted dressmaker with foresight.

Once the timeline is established, we move into the inciting act. What makes Bailey’s story even more interesting? When Bailey touches one particular client, she senses something amiss—a foreboding that foretells of tragedy. Immediately, she predicts there won’t be a wedding, at least not within the three weeks Elsa is scheduled to marry the scion of one of the town's wealthiest oil families. 

In most instances, the inciting act doesn’t have to be earth-shaking. It’s simply the big moment of the story, the central question that needs to be answered. A stronger foundation allows for bigger steps and risks to be taken. More layers add mystery, and more questions lead to more answers. 

I have to say, I get excited as I’m reminded of the adventures, twists, and turns taken in writing The Secret Keeper of Main Street. Losing yourself in a good story, even if you’re the one writing it, makes for a great day. Three hundred great days by my estimate, which is how long it took to get the full story on the pages.

Fear is quite the strategist in some regard. Overcoming it is far more than half the battle, it wins the war.

Check out Trisha R. Thomas' The Secret Keeper of Main Street here:

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