Don't Let "It" Stop You

 

Can you pinpoint the single most crippling emotion as respects writing? Think about what holds you back.

 

Did you say fear? I was afraid you would. <g>

 

Do any of these fear mantras sound familiar?

 

• “Okay I’ve got ten minutes but there’s that blank piece of paper and what on earth will I be able to put on it that’s worth reading?”

• “What if I do commit to that 10 minutes three times a week and then I don’t get it done? I don’t want to be a failure.”

• “If I do manage to get on a roll, what if it’s a fluke and I end up crashing and burning in eight weeks. What do I do then?”

• “What if people laugh when they read this?”

So how do you cope? How do you change your brain so that fear doesn’t hold you back?

 

First have a clear understanding of what writing practice is. This is supposed to be a ten-minute window where you let anything and everything pour from your brain and hit the page. It’s not supposed to be showy or dressy or meant for any eyes other than yours.

 

You go in with absolutely no expectations other than to enjoy yourself.

 

Secondly, realize that most of your fears are not well-founded. Judy Reeves (Writing Alone, Writing Together) tells her beginning students that fear is an acronym for False Evidence Appearing Real.

 

One way to conquer fear is to write about it. When you put your fears down on paper, they stop existing as over-sized monsters in your imagination. They then have weight and form and you can deal with them. This doesn’t always call for a psychiatric session exploring the deep causes of those fears. Sometimes just putting them on paper diminishes them enough that you can work in spite of them.

 

That being said, sometimes it’s wise to take an adult look at those fears and decide whether or not it’s really worth giving up your writing for them. Are they even true?

 

Try replacing the negative comments that flash through with positive ones. This is something else that comes more easily if your fears are on paper. Answer them with positive thoughts there. Read the page regularly. Then start answering the phrases in your head, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

 

Some people hesitate to write down specific goals because they don’t want to feel like failures if they don’t meet them. There's a better way to look at this though. Suppose you’ve been planning to run a marathon for nine months. You trained, you watched your diet, and you were completely ready to put in a good showing. The day before the run you come down with the flu. Are you a failure?

 

Absolutely not! You put in the work, and you could have successfully won the race.

 

“Failure” is a learning tool. Ask Thomas Edison! (If you could, of course.) He registered over 1,000 patents in his lifetime, but if he had registered every project that didn’t work, well who knows how many that would have been. We’ve all heard how the light bulb alone took thousands of different attempts before he found the correct combination.

 

This may turn out to be true with your writing schedule. The one you think is going to be best might not be. But how will you ever know unless you start trying?

 

Other things that can help you overcome common fears: 

 

• Start with small, easy goals. Too much too soon leads to frustration which feeds the flame of fear.

• Approach writing practice with no expectations or intentions. What do you expect from your breathing? Just that it happen. Same with writing practice.

• Keep in mind that the point is to enjoy yourself.  This is supposed to be fun and relaxing.

• Don’t start with a blank page. You always have a prompt available to help you get started. If I’m using writing practice to generate the raw draft for a project, I copy the last paragraph from the previous day and start with that on the page. No blank page to face, less fear.

• Know what you’re going to be doing. Plan what you’ll do at writing practice next time at the close of your current session and write it down.

• Get support. If you find a friend to write with when it’s time to practice, it can help you show up at the page.

 

Your assignment

 

Do a five-minute write beginning with “I’m afraid…”  When the five minutes is up, spend some time looking at and reasoning upon what you've written.  Cut those fears down to size. 

 

©2003Dekat

 

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©2004 Carolyn Dekat
Last Modified: April 1, 2004