- Joined
- Sep 9, 2007
- Messages
- 2,883
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- Age
- 40
- Location
- Arizona
- Website
- www.imaginewrite.net
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?
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?