31/03/2022
8 TIPS THAT HELPED ME FACE MY WRITING FEARS.
Ever since I became an Author, I have encouraged most of my friends to write. Some have started on the journey of writing, but most of them struggle with this feeling of-not having what to write about. We all have a lot to write about. If you are a parent for example, there are so many stories you can write about your children, if you are married, there is a lot you can talk about the highs and lows in your matrimonial journey, if you are an expert in any field you can decide to teach the people about the value of your work.
Other people are just scared and they buy into the mind games that fear dangles over their imagination. What if I’m not good enough? What if I’m wasting my time? What if no one likes my post? What if no one buys my book? Trust me, everyone at some point had to face these seemingly never ending questions. In this post I will share 8 things that you can do to change the Narrative and defeat the fear giant inside
Hand write. There’s something informal about writing longhand. Just grab a piece of paper and jot notes down. You don’t have to wait for a brilliant idea, write anything you feel inspired to write about. What you write could be something as simple as- I wish I had an idea about, don’t worry what your handwriting looks like, just fill the page with free thoughts.
Send yourself an email. You can write about an imaginary day or a neighborhood event. This is a great exercise to get in the storytelling mode and you don’t have to worry about the recipient, it’s you!
Commit before you’re ready. Tell someone you’re a writer and also make that person your accountability person. If it is starting a blog, give your accountability partner a proper plan of when you are launching your 1st post and how often you would wish to post. The accountability person should be able to call you and challenge you to keep the momentum.
Face your fears. The best way to deal with any challenge is to admit that it is a challenge. List down all your fears and consider counter statements against the fears that you list. For example; I am a bad writer – I am a growing writer.
Photo interpretation: Find a photo and think about all the memories that the photo brings. You can write about the location where the photo was taken, the date, the event, and the people at the event and how it is important to you. This will help you create a draft about a story you will want people to read about. This idea is about getting ideas flowing and helping you create your outline.
Mantra: Come up with a mantra that allows bad writing-I will succeed as long as I write, “You can always edit a bad page, you can’t edit a blank page.” Jodi Picoult. Keep these mantras, you can have as many as you want close by and say them out loud when fear raises its ugly head.
Finished product: Remember you’re reading the finished product. When you’re reading a published book or article you’re rarely (if ever) reading someone’s first draft. The book or article has gone through who knows how many revisions, editorial review, copy edits, etc. Once your work is finished, it will go through the same process before its shared with the public. So relax, you don’t have to be perfect.
Fear means you care: Far too often a writer may become too egotistical and ignore the benefit of being fearful. Not to the extent of being paralyzed, but using fear as a guide. By caring about your work and being concerned that your readers like or accept it will help you make sure your work is the best that it can be.
Well, I hope I have been able to convince you to put the words down and the rest will fall into place. If you strongly feel you have something to say, then most probably its worth being heard, go ahead and write it down. Don’t postpone the process, I must add that there are no short cuts to being a good writer. The difference is in who agrees to go through the refining process and who doesn’t. If you hang in there, you will probably find yourself on the writing end of similar tips instead of the reading end. We are also available to support you overcome your fears.
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