This Blank Page – An exploration into the evaluation of an idea

Stumbling upon an interesting Wattpad essay, I wanted to pose some discussion questions regarding the thoughts expanded upon within. “This Blank Page” written by Elvin Limpin draws attention to the power of an idea, the difficulty in both evaluating writing and using it as a medium for thought communication. By conveying a struggle to write, readers get a beautiful picture of this dreaded ‘writer’s block’ and (at least in my perspective) the sense that no matter what frustrations revolve around communication you’re not alone in this.

I write a lot. Like a lot a lot. And although I wouldn’t say I’m particularly any good at it, I do well enough in school in that regard, teachers seeming to appreciate how I string together boring sentences into something supposedly deep and meaningful. I don’t find what I do particularly difficult and I am under the opinion that anyone can write. Writing isn’t some secret code to be discovered and unlocked, instead there are basic premises that (if followed) typically make a piece of writing ‘good’.

The key to writing is organization and knowing oneself. Knowing how you write best and never losing an idea. For someone as scatterbrained as myself (even on good days) this can prove to be quite the challenge. Personally, I never throw out an idea. You may see words scratched our or added in margins but no crumpled pages exist in my world. Every idea has equal potential to be successful but it’s what is predetermined to be a ‘success’ that will decide it’s ability to earn you that English mark or get your point across. Writing is such an individual task that, being someone whose writing is deemed to be ‘not bad’ or even ‘good’, I can say that it’s not fair. How we evaluate an individuals’ thoughts to a singular standard when beauty, especially in language is near impossible. Of course there are small things like sentence structure and grammar but can you really evaluate an idea?

An idea has the power to both mold and shape shift our thoughts and determine our actions. Every good action is backed by a good idea or thought and the same is true of any bad action. It’s the way in which we qualify ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in these cases that says a lot about either a society or an individual. Perspectives are molded by our thoughts and our interactions and interpretations, our ideas are what makes us unique individuals. Your choices are the only action thing you have any control over and only you determine them. As someone once told me, “You can only control yourself.” Influence others? Maybe, likely, but change is an individual decision purely based upon ideas and understanding.

This is by no means a complete thought but like my friend, I hope to contribute to the ‘pool of ideas’ as you will as well. May the best ideas live to shape lives.

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