Writing...phobia?

Some of teh stories I love teh most have never sold anywhere, and some of teh stories I hate the most sell over and over, so I try to avoid worrying about whether my writing is good or bad. I think writers are the worst possible judges. Good or bad is up to the folks who buy it, and the folks who read. I just write it, put it out there, and hope people like it.

Eddyz Aquila said:

I know the title of the thread sounds weird and probably out of place but it's the best one I could come up with.

I just keep having this phobia that whatever I write eventually turns out bad. Ok, I'm still on the first draft, and ironically when I read over it it's not that bad and with polishing it can become good or perhaps even better but I'm still somewhat dissapointed it ended up bad in the first place. It's just that I'm not 100% confident with my writing skill despite having lots and lots of "writer miles" under my belt.

Does it qualify as writers block? Any ideas on how to get over this thing?

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Lots of stuff is bad in the first draft. It's like waking up in the morning before you've dressed and brushed your hair.

Writer's block seems to be a collection of problems that is different to everyone. I prefer to just call it by the individual "symtoms," then giving it an umbrella term. Perfectionism is one of the most obvious. The belief that if it is not "perfect," then you should not even do it. Defining what you feel as writer's block gives you more of an excuse not to write. See how this can become a visious cycle?

My truths are:

Expect that the first draft is hard and will look like garbage (if that is what is happening). The first draft is no more than the raw material. It is like the rough work of some wood carving you are doing. It gives you all the basics, and you still have a bit more time to shift things around.

Expect that the true writing will happen in the revisions.

Confidence is needed. Like actors, writers are entertainers, only they don't get up in front of people. You need to have a thick skin, and ability to compartmentalize. Build confidence by letting others see your writing, reading it out loud, or taking classes, or joining groups. The main confidence builder is to publish. I am pretty sure that many writers are "terrified" at starting a new project (some are not-- I can't speak for them), fear is a part of writing, not a roadblock. If you recognise this, you will be okay.

Nothing starts out perfect, so there's really nothing to be afraid of. Anything you produce won't be worse than what has been written by countless others.

Have you had anyone read your work yet? I find that comments from beta readers are incredibly encouraging, even when they're telling me to fix this or that. It may be you just need someone to read and say "hey, this could work" besides yourself.

You are afraid, because you want it to be good. You are resting too many hopes, dreams, pride, and personal reputation on your writing. Once you stop caring what others think about your writing and just focus on doing your best, your phobia will go away. Also, your writing will improve.

Just accept that you're gonna write some crap. It's part of the process for any writer I've ever heard of (except for the occasional irritating genius).

And when you can revise something crappy, and turn it into something worthwhile -- great feeling.

Manuel Royal said:

Just accept that you're gonna write some crap. It's part of the process for any writer I've ever heard of (except for the occasional irritating genius).

And when you can revise something crappy, and turn it into something worthwhile -- great feeling.

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This. Your writing IS crap - to begin with. Once you accept that, you can get past your ego and start really working on it. Then no matter what you start out with, you can make it shine. You can accept criticism because instead of being threatening, it's a guideline for making your writing EVEN BETTER.

I had some natural talent for writing, but I had to really get over my own need to be "good" before I could make any significant progress.

Eddyz Aquila said:

I just keep having this phobia that whatever I write eventually turns out bad. Ok, I'm still on the first draft, and ironically when I read over it it's not that bad and with polishing it can become good or perhaps even better but I'm still somewhat dissapointed it ended up bad in the first place. It's just that I'm not 100% confident with my writing skill despite having lots and lots of "writer miles" under my belt.

Does it qualify as writers block? Any ideas on how to get over this thing?

Click to expand...

No, that's just natural insecurity.

I'm pretty sure this might be the only form of "writer's block." At least, I think it's at the root of all other forms.

I hereby personally give you permission to suck. It's okay. We all do in our early phases of any given project. Just write it, forget about its suckitude, move on to the next scene, and worry about making it suck less in the next draft.

Just so I can jinx it... somewhere along this thread NeuroFizz will jump in and gives you a lecture