The Professional Writer: Overcoming Writers’ Fear

Hi Folks,

Know how I can tell immediately that I’m in a room full of writers? I listen. It takes all of maybe two minutes, in a room full of writers, to hear several excuses about why they can’t write. Most of these begin with “Oh I’d love to write more often, but

• I have a job;
• So and So is expecting me to [help him move, mow the yard, fill in the blank];
• I have to take care of [the dog who ate my homework, my pet snail, fill in the blank];
• Oh, I don’t write for publication; I only write for myself;
• Oh, I’ve written the novel, but I’m only on the third (or fifth or seventh) draft; or
• I don’t have time. (Baloney. You don’t have time to write but you have time to attend a seminar or writers’ conference?)

Of course, all of those are rationalizations. You say them to each other to cover Writers’ Fear: the fear that someone, somewhere, will spill the beans that you aren’t a writer after all.

My personal favorite is, “I can only write when I’m inspired.” That one’s such a knee-slapper that various professional writers have found a way to make fun of it. I stole Peter DeVries’ take on it. At the end of every email, my signature line reads, Like Peter DeVries, I only write when I’m inspired, so I see to it that I’m inspired every morning at four a.m.

The fact is, it’s a TON easier to “wait for inspiration” than it is to write
and risk the pain of criticism or rejection.

The thing is, Writers Write.

Writers write. It’s what we do. If you honestly feel that writing is a chore and you really have to force yourself to write, you’re probably not a writer. If you honestly aren’t able to find time to write, you probably are not a writer. If you write, but you’re not interested in writing for publication… well, you might be a writer, but why are you spending money on a conference or a seminar? Plus, trust me, nobody believes you. Nobody. Even the other writers in the room who say “Oh, I don’t write for publication either” don’t believe you. I’ve even heard people say (usually with a glass of wine held just so and a pinkie pointing across the room) “Oh I adore being published, but I simply hate to write.” Honestly? If you hate writing, it’s an easy matter to Just Not Write. I mean, nobody’s forcing you, are they? But if you’re only saying it so everyone will know how you suffer for your art, okay, whatever. But again, nobody believes you.

Look, when it comes to time, everyone has the same amount. The only difference between one person and another with the same dream is how they prioritize. When it comes to inspiration, story ideas come every day all day long. (They don’t come with plot, beginning, middle and end intact, but what fun would that be?) Sit down and write them. Yes, you’re about to bare your soul to a bunch of people you’ve never met. Yes, that might include agents and editors and contest judges and publishers and other “professionals” and you’re “just” a writer. So what? It isn’t like they’re gonna come to your house and beat you up. If you submit something else to the same magazine next month, they won’t even remember who you are. Keep submitting until you hit. To borrow an inflection from President George W. Bush, complete with his I find it completely incredible that I actually have to explain this to you grin,”That’s what you do, see. You’re a writer. Writers write.”

Okay, I’ll stop being flip, probably. The thing is, if you write into the dark, I can almost guarantee readers (including agents, editors, contest judges, publishers) will like your work. What they don’t like are the stories that are edited and polished so much that they know how the story will end after they’ve read the first few paragraphs. You know, the story you allowed your English-teacher, editorial, conscious mind to “edit” for you so it looked just like everything else in the genre? (Remember Bradbury’s admonition: If you don’t surprise yourself, how can you hope to surprise the reader?)

The good news is, Writers’ Fear, in the form of those ridiculous rationalizations, is the only hump you have to overcome. In my own process, I liken it to working out. When I was still in the Marine Corps I ran almost every morning, usually three to nine miles. I absolutely loved everything about running—the freedom, the release, the rhythm, getting my “second wind,” and especially the euphoric runners’ high—yet I had to force myself, morning after morning, to pull on my sweatband, shirt, shorts and shoes and head out. Just knowing how good I was going to feel wasn’t quite enough incentive.

Writing is exactly like that for me. I love the sensation it gives me. Writing a story is considerably more fun than anything else I do (yes, anything) but for some reason I still have to overcome that little twinge of fear every time. I hope this article will help you do the same.

Next up, my own writing process, staying in the Creative Mindset, and the end of this series on The Professional Writer. ‘Til then, happy writing!

Harvey

PS: If you want a really great, easy to use replacement for Microsoft Office, I urge you to check out WPS Office 2014 by Kingsoft. It’s absolutely free, and it’s incredibly easy to use. In fact, I’ve removed OpenOffice from my Writers’ Resources list in favor of WPS Office. One note of caution: When you begin to install it be sure to deselect the “PC Faster” option, which I suspect adds some unwanted software.