Laying the First Brick:

Action and the Blank Page

You appear immediately as I turn the page, crisp, clean, empty.

You can hold anything: a manuscript, a blog post, a story about a man who is struggling to redefine himself.

Each line could capture the mood, the reality within his thoughts.

But the pen does not move.

The blank page stares back like a stack of bricks,

heavy with no mortar or string to be found.

The writer, like the mason, must somehow lay the first course.

True and straight, it becomes the base where all else will follow.

No structures rise without that first honest line,

no wall stands without a careful eye,

A steady hand, and the courage to begin.

The writer could wait for the right words or hope for inspiration to strike.

But the truth is, the first line is the only way forward.

Action, the rough stroke, the awkward start, lays the first brick.

The rest will follow, one mark at a time.

Momentum does not come from waiting.

But if you must wait, treat it like a pause

like the mason waiting for the last course to set.

but you mustn't forget why your there.

you are not waiting for inspiration

even if the first move is uncertain.

Some days, the muse only appears after you've begun, called forth by effort, not invitation.

Let the page be blank if you must, but remember:

Nothing gets built until you dare to lay down the first course, crooked or true.

Field Note:

"Lay the first brick with care, everything else stands on that courage. The muse doesn't meet you at the starting line. She meets you in the work."