What Darken the Page is About and What You Can Expect [5 min]

My name is Dave Booda and welcome to Darken the Page. Before we begin, I want to take a few minutes and tell you why I started this podcast, and why I call it “Darken the Page”. I’m a writer, and this show is my therapy. I’ve struggled with every part of the writing process. I have half-finished […]

My name is Dave Booda and welcome to Darken the Page. Before we begin, I want to take a few minutes and tell you why I started this podcast, and why I call it “Darken the Page”.

I’m a writer, and this show is my therapy. I’ve struggled with every part of the writing process. I have half-finished books that stress me out, I have moments of inspiration followed by weeks of a creative void, I have a vision of my ideal life where everything happens like clock work and I write every day first thing in the morning, and I have the reality of me procrastinating, sleeping in, spending too much time on the internet and generally being a lot less disciplined than I want to be. Sometimes the only thing I do on a truly consistent basis is check Facebook.

I decided to look for some help, but I was tired of cheesy advice from people who either we’re in the trenches or weren’t sharing from their experience of being in the trenches. I wanted to hear about the nitty-gritty of people’s creative process, and I wanted it raw and uncut. Now, after having interviewed authors, writers, songwriters and creatives from all walks of life, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. These interviews have saved my life, and my creative output has greatly increased, along with me having a far more grounded sense of how I can consistently create art in a way that’s easy and fun… just the way it’s supposed to be. This show is a chance for me to share the conversations that have changed my life with you, in hopes that for you, it does the same.

So let me tell you a little about who I love interviewing. My criteria for guests consists of one question. Have you given your life to art? The guests on this show have given their life to art in a way that’s not always comfortable, not always pleasant, but it’s worth it. It’s worth the hundred pages of writing for one line that cracks someone’s heart open. The guests on this show ship on a regular basis, not for fame or accomplishment, but because it’s part of the deal as an artist. They understand that when you let art take the wheel, it’s a journey that takes you way beyond your comfort zone.

My intention is for this show to be consistently useful to the creative person. I’ll be speaking to people who go to work every day to make good art and are fascinated by the mystery of where it comes from. My goal is to have writers speak strictly from their experience, and I’m only interviewing writers with experience. In that way, I hope every writer I interview can provide value for you, just like they have for me.

The title “Darken the Page” was coined from a writer and life-coach named Steve Chandler, who is featured in episode one of this podcast. Steve has written over thirty books and has been a personal mentor of mine. He is constantly helping writers ship more and worry less. One of the things he tells people is to simply darken the page. Don’t try and write a masterpiece, just write, and make your goal nothing more than darkening the page with words. That advice has stuck with me ever since, and it’s the reason I chose that phrase for the title of this show.

I’ll be posting new shows every Wednesday on iTunes, stitcher and at darkenthepage.com. After every episode, don’t forget to visit this site for notes from the show, including links to what we talked about and contact information for the guest. I love hearing suggestions from listeners so if you or a writer you know would be perfect for the show, send me an email at [email protected]. If you enjoy the show, please tell your friends about it and leave us a review on iTunes.

Thank you for your support. I hope you get as much out of listening to this podcast as I’ve gotten creating it. 

Want to see the design contest I ran on 99 Designs to create the Darken the Page Logo? Visit darkenthepage.com/99designs to see all the logos I didn’t choose.