Too Scared to Write? Take Action Now!

From Writerslife.org:

It may be that you have never written anything, it may be that you used to write years ago and are deliberating about whether to try again. It may be that you wrote something last week, but now, for some reason, feel as though you can’t write anymore.

Facing your fears about writing is something that all writers must do at some point - we all have moments of doubt, of feeling we aren’t good enough. Or perhaps moments of fear that we will be laughed at, or rejected or simply that we’ll keep writing for years and never achieve our goals.

There is no doubt that writing can be a scary business and there are no guarantees for any of us. But if writing is your passion and your dream, letting fear stand in your way is something that just won’t do!

So how can you take action to conquer your writing fears? Let’s take a look at some tried and tested techniques.

Fear of failure

Fear of failure is a very common writer’s fear. It’s not surprising as failure for a writer can take many forms. Whether it’s receiving a rejection letter or feeling you’ve failed yourself because your work isn’t progressing as you’d like, the worry that you’ll fail can stop some writers in their tracks.

Try to remember that being creative is about taking risks. It’s scary and messy and chaotic. It sometimes flows and bursts with energy, and sometimes stops and hides away. Accepting that writing is a process of discovery and that it won’t always be steady and constant can help writers to let go of this fear. Remember the more you practice your writing, the better at it you’ll become, and the better you become, the more confident you’ll feel. Just break the cycle of fear, and keep pushing through and as long as you keep going, you can’t fail.

Fear of feeling like a fraud

Even if you are an incredibly successful writer, you may still have that weird sense of imposter syndrome - that you aren’t really supposed to be successful, that it’s all a massive mistake and that any day now you’ll get found out. 

Accept that if you are writing, that makes you a writer. No matter if you’ve never had anything published or you’ve written a bestseller. You don’t have to prove yourself to anyone; you don’t need to make anyone like your writing. Many writers are so scared of not getting the approval they crave that they stop writing altogether. If they don’t write, no one can dislike their writing. If they don’t write, they never have to be pushed outside of their comfort zone.

It’s OK to believe in yourself and to be proud of everything that you have achieved. Remember that you don't have to show your work to anyone until you are ready, and when you feel ready you’ll feel as though you have put the work in, and therefore if you do get recognition, accept it - because you deserve it!

Fear of running out of ideas

Many writers share the common fear that one day they just won’t have anything left to say. This can be particularly true if you’ve already written something that has done quite well. How will you ever top it? How will you ever find anything interesting and read-worthy to write again?

The truth is that writer’s rarely run out of ideas if they don’t want to. There are so many different ways to gather inspiration, and you never know when a great idea for your next story might strike. So accept that this fear is irrational, and there will always be things you can do to get those creative juices flowing once more. 

Fear of having no control

When we write our stories, before we share them with anyone they are completely our own, and we are in total control. The idea that we then have to part with them send them off without any way of being able to control the outcome, or even the timeline can be particularly challenging for writers. Suddenly this project you have put your all into is no longer your own - this can feel very daunting indeed. 

Try to accept those things you cannot change. Once you have put your work out there, you have to allow for the fact that it is no longer entirely yours. All pieces of writing are collaborations, between you - the author, your editor, your publisher, and, most importantly, your reader. 

You cannot have complete control, but that’s okay. No true artist is entirely in control of their work because it is subjective to those who receive it. You can’t control how people will react to your stories, but that's what’s so magical about them, as no two readers will take away the same from it - how cool is that?

Writing can be daunting, but it also has so many positives. So if you are feeling too scared to write, try to take a deep breath, take the plunge and don’t let fear get in the way of anything you want to do!

I've been trying to follow the advice given just in the title line today as I had a rather intriguing dream last night that I wanted to write down. It was still fresh in my mind this morning, unlike some most other dreams I have had. I finally pressured myself to write down what I remembered and add what I think could go into the possibles try to come out of this dream. I didn't come up witan full story just yet, but at least I got the idea down for possibly working on it more in the future. I'm still trying to decided how to finish up my other two writing projects and how much farther I want to take each of them. I want to get my memoir reading for the writing contest I saw online (the deadline is at the end of September). I especially am not sure how to end my diary novel and now it seems I could start another book for that one, thus starting a series. But at least I got my idea down as I had wanted to do. I'm glad to have gotten some ideas for a story, but I can't seem to decide which one to work on right now. Though I'll probably put the dream one aside for now, now that I have most of what I could recall from the dream written down.