Fear
I think anyone that does any kind of writing struggles with fear. Fear that no one will like what you wrote. Fear that your teacher won’t give you a good grade. Fear that what you write won’t make any sense.
Now, I’m not gonna go on about writer’s block, because I think in most cases, all writer’s block is, is an excuse to dismiss the fear you feel. Put a tangible name to it. It probably helps to give writers something to fight. No one wants to deal with fear. That’s the whole point, in a way.
One think that I have noticed about my self these last several months, is that fear is insidious. Most times, you do not notice that it has crept up on you. You make excuses. “Oh, I’m too tired,” or “It’s hard to write AND work on my school work.” For me at least, I think these boil down to simple fear. After I finished the first draft of Adventure, Inc., I sent it out to a bunch of friends to read it. I decided to take two weeks to step back from it.
I think that was the worst thing I could do. As a writer, you have to write to get better. Sure, it’s okay to take some time away, that’s not the issue. But instead of working on something different right away, I did nothing. Like the whole Parallax thing with Green Lantern, I let fear into my heart. Okay, yeah, I realize how pretentious and melodramatic that sounds, but it’s true. That time I spent doing nothing gave my mind time to wonder if what I wrote was any good.
That dreaded inner editor surfaced and began picking it apart in my head. While there’s a time and place for that, generally during edits after you get feedback, you can’t let it plague you until you’re ready to actually sit down and edit. That inner editor will play on your fear, and you’ll never get anything done.
I guess that’s the moral of this post. Don’t let fear stop you from writing. I think that’s why most people never live their writing dream. Fear.
I let fear stop me from writing these last couple of months. Don’t let fear stop you!
Now, I’m not gonna go on about writer’s block, because I think in most cases, all writer’s block is, is an excuse to dismiss the fear you feel. Put a tangible name to it. It probably helps to give writers something to fight. No one wants to deal with fear. That’s the whole point, in a way.
One think that I have noticed about my self these last several months, is that fear is insidious. Most times, you do not notice that it has crept up on you. You make excuses. “Oh, I’m too tired,” or “It’s hard to write AND work on my school work.” For me at least, I think these boil down to simple fear. After I finished the first draft of Adventure, Inc., I sent it out to a bunch of friends to read it. I decided to take two weeks to step back from it.
I think that was the worst thing I could do. As a writer, you have to write to get better. Sure, it’s okay to take some time away, that’s not the issue. But instead of working on something different right away, I did nothing. Like the whole Parallax thing with Green Lantern, I let fear into my heart. Okay, yeah, I realize how pretentious and melodramatic that sounds, but it’s true. That time I spent doing nothing gave my mind time to wonder if what I wrote was any good.
That dreaded inner editor surfaced and began picking it apart in my head. While there’s a time and place for that, generally during edits after you get feedback, you can’t let it plague you until you’re ready to actually sit down and edit. That inner editor will play on your fear, and you’ll never get anything done.
I guess that’s the moral of this post. Don’t let fear stop you from writing. I think that’s why most people never live their writing dream. Fear.
I let fear stop me from writing these last couple of months. Don’t let fear stop you!
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