This question is spurred by some quotes I found connected to George Lucas and the creation/writing of Star Wars that I used in this answer on the “Movies & TV” Stack Exchange site. Specifically this line which I believe comes from a 1974 interview with George Lucas on page 18 of Sally Kline’s 1999 book, George Lucas: Interviews; bold emphasis is mine:
“But I don’t have a natural talent for writing. When I sit down I
bleed on the page, and it’s just awful. Writing doesn’t flow in a
creative surge the way other things do.”
This usage of “…bleed on the page…” confuses me. To me, when one “bleeds” on the page the implication is a positive thing: They are pouring their passion and life into a project and this is a good thing. But in the context in which George Lucas is quoted as using it, seems to be portrayed as a negative; as if “bleeding” means he’s straining himself too much.
Was this a usage of the phrase “bleed on the page” that might have been more common at one point in the past? Or a usage I am casually not familiar with?
Best Answer
I feel like he is probably referring to a lack of eloquence and simplified articulation. Like getting "wordy" and using an entire page to illustrate a character's shoe color, where he's determined it less "awful" to do so with a single poetic sentence.