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Writing Anxiety

Evelyn Michelle

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I'm not sure why, but lately, the thought of writing anything has made me unreasonably anxious. Nothing really brought it on, I was just in the middle of a short story that I know the story of from top to bottom I got about three-fourths of the way through and now I can't bring myself to write anything else. Both in that story or anything else actually. I stare at the document and just can't do it. I'm not sure what's causing it or what to do about it, but it's been like a month since I've actually managed to write something.

Has this happened to do anyone else? And has anyone found a way around it? Anxiety isn't a thing I usually struggle with, but I've noticed it popping up a couple times lately.
 

EvilPenguin

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I have always struggled with anxiety when it comes to writing. Unfortunately, for me, it only gets worse the more I learn about how much it takes to write a decent novel. My brain spends more time thinking about everything I'm doing wrong and how much time it's going to take to fix the problems or how I'm not talented enough to actually fix the problems than worrying about just writing the story as I visualize it in my head.

I've learned that there are many different reasons why authors get anxiety when it's time to write. Everyone is different. Everyone struggles with different things. Maybe you're in a similar boat as me, and focused on everything that can go wrong. Maybe you're worried about finishing the project and having to start something new. Or maybe you're worried about the story being successful. There's hundreds, maybe even thousands, of different reasons why you could be struggling. But you're the only one that can figure out the real reason behind it.

As for trying to overcome the anxiety, try a lot of different things. Maybe try meditating before a writing session to clear your head. Maybe try starting a completely new story and see where that takes you. There's a lot of different options. I have yet to find exactly what I need to overcome my own anxiety, so I'm probably not the best for giving advice, but I understand how frustrating it can be. Just keep in mind that it's okay to give yourself a break from writing.
 

Kjbartolotta

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Relatable!

IDK what the answer is, besides "keep writing". I have good days and bad days with this, but generally can't remember a day in the last ten years I haven't felt this. I'm proud to say I've moved past the issue of purely putting words on the page, getting anything completed and having faith in a project when thing get logjammed...still an issue. Everyone's got a place where the shoe pinches.

But part of the issue for me seems to be the 'always need to be doing something' problem and the constant habit of excoriating myself when I'm not as productive as I want to be. Once I start to feel this way, I freeze, and as paradoxical as it seems, is the number one thing affecting my productivity. But every single person in my social life is a creative, and they all struggle with this same issue in the exact same way, so it's neither abnormal or particularly bad, if perhaps a strain of the 'stinkin thinkin' smart, wonderful, creative, and uber-brilliant people constantly struggle with.

Not to play the 'self-care' card, but so many of us have the habit of torturing ourselves, and some days it's fine just to close the documents and play video games or whatever. And a month isn't that long to step away from something, come back to it slowly and try doing tiny amounts here and there, if it's still not working for you that's fine, you've learned and can still come back later!

For some people writing is fun, for me it isn't but rather rewarding, and that's fine. But creative ventures can feel very exhausting at times. And support networks help! :)
 

triceretops

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I agree about pulling away from writing and focusing on some new stimuli that is unrelated to literature. Writing can be demoralizing. It's a creative pursuit and acceptance means everything. We have a tendency to think of anything that can go wrong. I've had some terrible anxiety and panic attacks, more than ever because of a critical illness. I can't tell you how deep in the doldrums I am. There is a ray of hope that keeps me hanging. For therapy, I watch every YouTube documentary and bio that showcases success stories--facing and over-coming impossible odds. I'll even listen to select music to boost my confidence and chase off the demon muse. The trick is to come back into your pursuit with a totally differently outlook, or at the least, a new perspective.
 

screenscope

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I spent a year in this state and this is what I think of when people mention writer's block. I became overwhelmed every time I tried to write and I could put down a word with becoming obsessed with how that word would affect the entirety of the work. What was also overwhelming was the urge to write. It was a horrible place to be.

I eventually recovered by setting a writing goal of one sentence per session. After that it was OK to stop. That first session took an agonising two hours, but it did the trick and pretty soon I was writing more. I have been free of the condition for more than ten years now, but as I know there is always the possibility of a relapse, that first sentence is still my only target when I sit down at the keyboard.

From a writing point of view I now look at the experience as being very valuable and I am glad I went through it. I hope you also find a way through, Evelyn, and enjoy the other side once again.
 
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Undercover

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I have anxieties about everything! Writing, not writing, waiting, reading, revising. etc. The trick of it is not to let it overwhelm you and have your fears take over. I don't always win this battle. But sometimes I do and when I do, I feel great about it. I feel a sense of accomplishment. And with that, it helps me through the rest of the day.
 

Evelyn Michelle

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Writing was so much easier when I didn't know how, funner too I think. >_< Thanks, it helps just knowing that others do it too.
 

TheMontess

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A technique I heard from someone the other day is that when they get uptight about getting near to the end (that kind of fear of completion), they just go ahead and write the end. Then they go back and fill in the last quarter or whatever that's missing. They normally wind up changing the end when they get back to it anyway, but actually just having it out on paper stops it being a stumbling block. Not sure if that will help you, but I say try anything and see what works!

Personally I'm a butt-in-chair writer: I set myself some time to write, and whether I write a lot or a little, I'm still chipping away. It becomes a process, then, rather than something to complete. Best of luck with everything, there's some good advice from everyone here :)
 

Turnip Knight

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Try this exercise.

Take something dumb and fun that you like that isn't inherently written down, like a game, TV show, or movie. Write, physically write on paper with pen, a short story or summary about it. Make it whatever you want. Don't worry about spelling, grammar, punctuation, or even if it's legible. If you want, set a timer for 15 minutes, but no timer is necessary, you can do this for as long as you want until you feel you're finished. Don't slow down.

When it's done, carefully take what you've written, ball it up, and throw it away, burn it if you want. Don't bother rereading it. You had something dumb and fun that you wanted to do, now it's done and you can move on. The end result isn't the point of writing. How you do it isn't even what matters. Writing is all that matters. Writing is it's own reward. Just write because it's fun and you like to.

This exercise is similar to what psychiatrists have people do when they have anxiety about saying something to someone. This is writing a letter that you're never going to send. A lot of times we get wrapped up in the fact that there will be an end product when we write. There's a something that we can look at to judge, critique, and belittle if we want. Write like your ink is invisible.

P.S. - Every time I edit this because I notice that my phone autocorrected something wrong, it deletes the whole thing. T-T
 

Updown

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This has happened to me before.

I find the best cure is to push through and even do the ‘timer’ challenge.

Just set a timer for 20 minutes per day and force yourself to write for those 20 minutes. Doesn’t matter if what you write is terrible or great, just that you write. That usually pulls me out of it.

Good luck!
 

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Hey, I'm sorry you're going through this. Like other commenters have said, it's a highly relatable situation – for what it's worth, if anything, you're not alone.

One of the things that helped me out of a similar funk was when a friend suggested Tim Clare's Couch to 80k Boot Camp podcast. I've not been a podcast person before, but Tim is full of wisdom, support and passion for writing, and each episode contains a small ten-minute exercise with the timer inbuilt. The nature of a small, ten-minute creative exercise (along with a gently supportive voice telling me out loud to drop perfection and have some fun) really let me break loose a little and find myself somewhat back on track. Plus, for me, there's a lot of psychological benefit in being able to tick something off as 'done', no matter how small... so the ten-minute daily habit helped rebuild my confidence in that way, too. :)

Link below, in case you decide to give it a try:

http://www.timclarepoet.co.uk/couchto80kwritingbootcamp/
 

Carrie in PA

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If you want to write, I'd suggest a prompt. There are a zillion on Pinterest. Just pick a prompt and write for ten or fifteen minutes. Your internal editor can be quiet during this, because it's just a prompt. No pressure, no need to create a masterpiece. Think of it like running scales before playing a piano piece - the scales are nothing. Screw them up, who cares. Shooting hoops before a basketball game. You miss, who cares, it's not being scored. Prompts are junk writing, just a warm up or practice.

Many times that has helped me jumpstart after being stuck.

Also ditto the self-care above. Maybe you need to *not* write for a bit and do other things.
 

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Another possibility to try, something that I've found helpful -- I buy a really cheap tablet of paper, like newsprint, flimsy, the kind no one would use for anything that was important. I take a pencil (not a pen) and start jotting down random thoughts about my story. No pressure, it's not really writing, I'm just playing with ideas and I assure myself that I can simply throw it all away afterwards because I'm not really writing. It's surprising how often some of those random jottings will help me to get back into a story that is blocked.
 

Aerythia

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So many people have said things in this thread that resonated with me. When I first sat down to seriously start writing, I banged out about 130,000 words in four months. I was focused on finally completing a book, having said I would write one since I was in my early teens. In a backwards move, I started to learn more about writing once I completed the first draft of MS1. I learned about how dreadful adverbs are, how you should never use dialogue tags other than 'said', how all instances of 'was' and 'had' should be removed, what filtering was, how my first chapter was probably awful and so spent months editing and revising it. I decided I needed to leave it for a while to get on with the sequel and I've been working at MS2 properly for three+ months and only managed 22,000 words. I am constantly second guessing what I put and telling myself off whenever I write certain things. I can sit and struggle to get started because nothing seems "good enough."

As others have said, a break helps. Many people have suggested excellent ideas. I've gone for a different approach that works for me and my struggle with it not being "good enough" and so not writing anything. I'm being strict with myself that I cannot properly reread what I have written until I complete a chapter. Then I check that once, and once only and move on. Helps for me anyway.