How do I beat the FEAR?

DonnaDuck · Feb 28, 2008

Fear is one of the main reasons that writers don't write: fear of failure, fear of success, whatever it is. We're also a bunch of ridiculous procrastinators. Mix the two and you're looking at writing three words a night if you're lucky. So how do you beat it?

Personally, I'm not afraid of failure when it comes to writing. If I complete the story, be it short or a novel, it's already a huge accomplishment and getting it published would just be the cherry ont he sundae. Of course, it's a dream I aspire to but I'm not afraid of not getting something published. I'm much more fearful of becoming successful and living up to the expectations of others. The notion of 'will the second book be as good as the first' is much more crippling for me. Add to that my knack for finding everything under the sun as an excuse not to write, including cleaning, and I've come to find out that I'm writing some measly numbers.

Aside from 'just write,' how do you motivate yourself to actually do it? I know I'm not the only one that has these issues but I've found the 'just do it' attitude just doesn't work all the time. The fear has to be faced but how do you get over procrastination?

jst5150 · Feb 28, 2008

Put your self in a position to be positive before you get started:

-- How you'll feel when you get to the end.
-- The adventure and sheer fun of cobbling together all these different things that only YOU can put together.
-- Meeting new (if imaginary) people.
-- That you are creating something that's never been created before. That's GOT to be better than Pine-Sol and a mop.
-- The reaction of friends and family when they find out you've written something.
-- The amount of support you get from 19,000+ people here.
-- The opportunity to discuss your work as you go and flesh out new ideas.
-- That as you do all this, you discover you're pretty good at it.
-- Discovering that you can sell it

Stake your claim to all these things before you start lettting in the distractions.

Always remember: dreams are just dreams until you take somesort of action to make them real. That action is usually putting words on the page from 1 to 10,000 a day.

Don;t be afraid of the paper. Don't be afraid of the keyboard. Find your priorities. Hang your hat on the positive things and make something happen.

Bounce, Rock, Skate and Roll with it.

Mud Dauber · Feb 28, 2008

I want to copy this and display it somewhere near my writerly things.

Beautiful words of encouragement for a novelist wannabe.

jst5150 said:
Put your self in a position to be positive before you get started:

-- How you'll feel when you get to the end.
-- The adventure and sheer fun of cobbling together all these different things that only YOU can put together.
-- Meeting new (if imaginary) people.
-- That you are creating something that's never been created before. That's GOT to be better than Pine-Sol and a mop.
-- The reaction of friends and family when they find out you've written something.
-- The amount of support you get from 19,000+ people here.
-- The opportunity to discuss your work as you go and flesh out new ideas.
-- That as you do all this, you discover you're pretty good at it.
-- Discovering that you can sell it

Thanks jst5150; you've got me psyched to get back to my WIP.

BlueLucario · Feb 28, 2008

DonnaDuck said:
Fear is one of the main reasons that writers don't write: fear of failure, fear of success, whatever it is. We're also a bunch of ridiculous procrastinators. Mix the two and you're looking at writing three words a night if you're lucky. So how do you beat it?

I love you. I wanted to make a post like that but it's the fear in me that held me back lol.

Thank you!

Monkey · Feb 28, 2008

How do you overcome the FEAR?

Just ask Ricky Bobby.

Actually, my technique is to tell myself, "This is just a first draft. It doesn't matter what I write, it'll all get edited later." I make sure that no one can look over my shoulder and read what I'm writing, and then I just let it go. Anything, everything, whatever comes to my head; black letters on white screen. If I try to make it perfect, I'll get bogged down or fearful that it'll never be good enough; if I tell myself to just put everything down, the words flow like water.

Maybe you're trying too hard to have a perfect first draft.

CatMuse33 · Feb 28, 2008

1). Support from other writers! 2). Goals that are written down! 3). Accountability. (Add 1 and 2, and you get 3, essentially.)

At least, that is what has helped me. In the freelance writing JHS thread, I post all my monthly goals, including things that absolutely *have* to get done because they are assigned from editors to queries I would *like* to get done in order to get more work or pitch larger markets.

While, of course, I put the assignments first, I take the secondary (non-assigned) goals just as seriously, because they are there in front of the world to see.

DonnaDuck, you have a blog. How about posting your word counts on your blog every day... along with your goals for that day? You'll find yourself not wanting to put down a number less than your goal, because you'll have all those readers knowing it.

Of course, then you have to stay accountable to update the blog, but if you have loyal readers, you'll probably find yourself *wanting* to.

DonnaDuck · Feb 28, 2008

Thanks everyone!

I definitely don't try to perfect my first draft. You should see the scribbles that I write and the complete nonsense I end up putting on the page. So that's certainly not the problem. I just have a 'I'll do it later' issue.

I do set goals for myself but I don't do them publicly. I feel I don't need to to reach them. Once I write them down, I complete them. In fact, I've completed all but one goal for the month of February, the last one is writing X amount of words for both WIPs. That I won't know if I've hit the mark until Saturday when I type everything in. The posting the daily word limit isn't feasible for me since 1) I can't be bothered to type everything in on a daily basis (I don't even type in once a week, issues when I reach 40 pages of written words) and 2) I write, initially, pen to paper first. It just doesn't work any other way.

What I am going to do, though, is start another serial (thanks for the addiction, Stormy!) on my FI blog. I still have my Q serial which is slow moving and will stay that way but I have another brewing that 1) I'm going to be writing installments in advance so I know I have something to post and 2) I'm going to commit to twice monthly postings in order to keep me on a schedule. One of the reasons that Q takes forever is because I just write when I feel like it. Obviously I need something more rigid!

MelodyO · Feb 28, 2008

I'm EXACTLY the same way. If I write 500 words it's like the second coming. More often it only takes 5 words to get me stuck. My fear? Trying my very best and failing. Thusly the not trying my very best. Sigh.

Perhaps we should nag each other. No, seriously. I'm a mother. I could totally guilt you into it, if you'll guilt me into it.

Xeen · Feb 28, 2008

Wow... fear of failure?

The only fear I face is not being able to do the world and its characters justice. I don't want to let them down. I'm facing that fear by learning the finer details of writing and having fun doing it.

*shrug* I tend to write rather profusely, so worrying about getting 3 words out isn't an issue. Only time I don't write much at a time is when I'm not feeling well physically or mentally and that has nothing to do with fear.

blueobsidian · Feb 29, 2008

MelodyO said:
My fear? Trying my very best and failing. Thusly the not trying my very best.

This is the biggest challenge I face with my writing (and the rest of my life). It's hard to get out of the habit of self-handicapping. If I put in less time or less effort, I have an excuse for mediocre work. I'm terrified of working my hardest and failing.

MelodyO · Feb 29, 2008

blueobsidian said:
This is the biggest challenge I face with my writing (and the rest of my life). It's hard to get out of the habit of self-handicapping. If I put in less time or less effort, I have an excuse for mediocre work. I'm terrified of working my hardest and failing.

I know! The sad part is that so many people put in so little effort that the people who work really hard tend to excel even if they don't have the most talent. So let's snap out of it! ::shakes you by the shoulders::

Pat~ · Feb 29, 2008

Fear is absolute death to creativity. And for me, it starts the moment I start thinking about the publish-ability of what it is I'm writing.

If at all possible, try to con yourself into thinking you're writing this only for yourself--or family members, maybe (if that's not a fearful prospect). Write about something because it is your passion to write it, period.

Then when it's done, and you're admiring how well it actually turned out, you can start considering whether or not it's of publishable quality, edit, and submit.

(ETA: Hey, you're better than me. At least you set some private goals. I even avoid that!)

jannawrites · Feb 29, 2008

I know it sounds trite:

Just.keep.truckin'.

DonnaDuck · Feb 29, 2008

I have a tendency to work best under pressure so I'm going to cram a crap-load of writing in tonight and work until midnight and see if I can hit my writing goal I've set for myself. I love pressure, believe it or not, but usually only if I impose it on myself. Outside pressure is a bit different!

Riley · Feb 29, 2008

I have not been able to "beat" my fear, yet.

Whenever I sit down to write, I have a fear that I am going to get fat. Then I want to exercise. For you see, I am bulimic, or at least a recovering one. That's all I have to say about that subject.

As for fear of success or failure, I've noticed the best thing to do is just forge ahead. Don't think about success, or failure. I remember reading a quote once that said, basically, when you're writing, you should be like a kindergartner stringing beads along a thread. You know, happy, content, absorbed.

Fear is absolute death to creativity. And for me, it starts the moment I start thinking about the publish-ability of what it is I'm writing.

Pat, I feel your pain. That's why I try my darndest not to think of the publishability. But it inevitably comes up, doesn't it?

Pat~ · Feb 29, 2008

Riley said:
I have not been able to "beat" my fear, yet.

Whenever I sit down to write, I have a fear that I am going to get fat. Then I want to exercise. For you see, I am bulimic, or at least a recovering one. That's all I have to say about that subject.

...

Pat, I feel your pain. That's why I try my darndest not to think of the publishability. But it inevitably comes up, doesn't it?

And I feel yours. As a recovering anorexic (now 7 years), I also fight that fear. though I'd have to say it now is only a nagging thought.

Sean D. Schaffer · Feb 29, 2008

Pat~ said:
Fear is absolute death to creativity. And for me, it starts the moment I start thinking about the publish-ability of what it is I'm writing.

If at all possible, try to con yourself into thinking you're writing this only for yourself--or family members, maybe (if that's not a fearful prospect). Write about something because it is your passion to write it, period.

Then when it's done, and you're admiring how well it actually turned out, you can start considering whether or not it's of publishable quality, edit, and submit.

Good idea, Pat.

I hadn't thought of it that way before.

One thing that got me thinking, was the portion of your post where you said fear is the death of creativity. I had a problem like that recently, concerning my novel. I was afraid because of its length, that no one would want it. Instantly, all my desires to write crumbled before me. It was not until I basically told myself, "I'm going to let this rest", that I started thinking about writing again.

Then, I decided to go ahead and submit the short novel. I mean, what's the harm in it? I did my best, and the worst publishers could say is 'no'. So really, I guess the way I dealt with my fear was by reminding myself that I'm doing this because I love it, and by taking a break from the work that was causing me all the fear in the first place.

I hope this helps.

--Sean

Greenwolf103 · Feb 29, 2008

Pat~ said:
If at all possible, try to con yourself into thinking you're writing this only for yourself--or family members, maybe (if that's not a fearful prospect). Write about something because it is your passion to write it, period.

This is VERY good advice. And what I do, as well. This is probably why I write almost ALL of my first drafts with pen and paper. After it's done, I want to make it better. And, by then, the fear is gone.

I don't think writers ever "beat" fear. I would imagine that the likes of Michael Crichton and Stephen King deal with their own fears, too. The key is to find a way to overcome your fears. Repetition breeds confidence. For me, it's just "throwing fear out the window" and getting to work, anyway. My desire to write something is MUCH more stronger than the fears.

One thing I've noticed: Fear really is often just in your head. Seriously, thinking about that fear, writing about it, talking about it and spending HOURS letting it control you only gives that fear more power. ACTION is the best antidote to fear. Trust me on this.

You mention fear of success. I have that fear, too. In my case, though, my desire to be a success is stronger than my fear of becoming one. I WANT to be a success! And I DON'T want to be afraid. Out the window THAT one goes.

How do I beat the FEAR?

DonnaDuck

My Worlds Are Building

jst5150

Vorpal Comics. Weekly Podcast. Twitch Artist. Vet

Mud Dauber

writing on the wall

BlueLucario

Blood Elves FTW

Monkey

Is me.

CatMuse33

Just hitting send

DonnaDuck

My Worlds Are Building

MelodyO

Waiting for love on the web

Xeen

blueobsidian

MelodyO

Waiting for love on the web

Pat~

Luftmensch Emeritus, A.D.D.

jannawrites

no, really

DonnaDuck

My Worlds Are Building

Riley

They won't let me be good

Pat~

Luftmensch Emeritus, A.D.D.

Sean D. Schaffer

Greenwolf103

I'm a grrrl dog, yo