🖋️ Behind the Scenes: Indie Author Life

I write every day. It's not for everyone. But it's me.

You Can’t Edit a Blank Page — So Make a Mess

There’s a saying every writer has heard at least once (usually when staring at the blinking cursor of doom):

👉 “You can’t edit a blank page.”

It’s true. You can stare at the screen, plan the perfect sentence, outline every beat, and wait for inspiration to strike—but none of that gets you a story.

Writing is messy.

It’s supposed to be.

The first draft isn’t about perfection. It’s about momentum.

It’s getting the bones of the story out before your inner editor wakes up and starts pointing out the flaws. Because trust me, there will be flaws. There will be plot holes, typos, and characters who suddenly change eye color mid-scene. (Been there. Fixed that.)

But you can’t fix what isn’t there.

The magic happens when you give yourself permission to make a glorious, chaotic mess.

Throw all your ideas onto the page—dialogue that makes no sense, filler scenes, half-formed thoughts—and then come back later with your editing brain switched on.

That’s when you sculpt it into something beautiful.

I always remind myself that my readers will (hopefully) never see the first messy version. They’ll only see the story I polished. The one i tore my hair out over. But to get there, I have to write through the mess first.

Some of my favorite scenes—the ones readers quote back to me or message me about—started out as rough, awkward paragraphs I almost deleted. Good thing I didn’t.

So, if you’re a writer reading this, just stop overthinking and start typing.

You can’t edit a blank page, but you can absolutely fix a messy one.

Now go make that mess.

And if you’re one of my readers—know that every world I build, every growly shifter, every morally gray billionaire, every swoony fated mate started with chaos on a page.

That’s how the magic begins. 🖤

Happy writing and reading everyone!

del mare alla stella,
C.D. Gorri