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Tips for writer's anxiety



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Sat Jul 11, 2020 6:03 pm
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Alkimia says...



Lately I've found myself really anxious whenever I decide to sit down and do some writing. It's gotten to the point where I get nothing done and later I feel restless because I know I didn't get anything done. I'm afraid of writing something terrible and not being able to fix it, which I know is irrational because I could always write another draft. Should I just write whatever comes to mind and later in editing throw out what doesn't work or is there a better approach?
  





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Sat Jul 11, 2020 6:17 pm
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jackwyndeonline says...



IMO, the first step is to find a project or idea you really care about and want to be made. Do whatever it takes to plan it out if necessary and know what it is you want to say.
The next step is to just WRITE. It probably IS terrible. For me, I write about a 1000 terrible words every day, and somewhere in that is about 10 words that are really good. You can always go back and change things, cut stuff out, rewrite, as well as send it to someone (preferably a good friend who can critique without destroying your feelings) and get input. You have to write terribly in order to get all the bad stuff out.
I generally hate myself when I write, cause I know in the back of my head this is pure garbage. But I force myself to keep going.
You're a writer. And since you're a writer, I promise there will be one day down the line when it will start to come together and you'll start writing your masterpiece.
Just my thoughts. I'm very new to this site, trying to figure out how it all works.
God bless!
  





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Fri Jul 17, 2020 3:25 am
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Carlito says...



Hi!
Try to change your thinking patterns about writing. Instead of thinking "it's terrible and I won't be able to fix it", try telling yourself things like "this is fun, I enjoy this story, I'm learning every time I write, I'm getting better every time I write, I can always change it later, I'm telling this story the best I can, I don't have to show this to anyone unless I want to, etc." (you don't have to think all of those things, they're all just examples) :)

Giving yourself the grace and space to not write a perfect draft is so hard. But you're allowed to write a trash draft. A trash draft is better than no draft at all. Give it a go! The worst thing that will happen is you'll write something that's meh. And that's okay! You can do something with meh. You can't do anything with no novel at all ;)

When I write a first draft, I mostly wing it. I have a general idea of the plot arc, but I mostly figure it out as I go along and then fix it all in subsequent drafts. (And all of my first drafts are TRASH). Whatever works for, works for you! Write what comes to you and fix it all later, plan it all meticulously and follow the plan, do something in the middle, anything goes! Whatever works best for you!

Also, something that helps me when I'm struggling with motivation or I'm anxious about my writing, is by changing up how I write. I personally love word crawls. They were originally created for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), but there are a ton and some really fun and creative ones. For me I think they help with breaking up the writing and before you know it, you've written 5000 words!

Experiment and find what works best for you as you're writing! Just because one person's method is sitting at their desk for two hours with a cold beverage and classical music playing, doesn't mean that method will work for you and that's okay! Think of it as an adventure. :)

Happy to chat more if you'd like or answer any clarifying questions!!
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

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Ask me anything. Talk to me about anything. Seriously. My PM box is always open <3
  





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Wed Jul 29, 2020 7:40 pm
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Tenyo says...



Having a positive relationship with your work is really important, and there are lots of ways to do this. The best thing I find is to take frequent breaks just to play without the pressure of having to be productive.

Word games are a great way to try and break free from negative feelings that build up from sitting at a page too long. Things like, rewriting the same sentence in as many ways as possible, or creating a poem from a random word generator. Anything that brings you back into that mindset of being creative and enjoying the process of stringing words together is a positive step forward.

Another thing is that writing is a craft, and slugging through without making progress is bound to burn out anybody. Watching interesting tutorials, researching new techniques, or reading something you like, can keep you moving forward with your writing even if you're taking a break to breath and adapt a new approach.

The worst thing you can do is return to that empty page because that anxiety will keep getting worse. Keep changing things up and engaging in new activities until you feel ready to come back to it, and even then take your time and don't overdo it.

I also second what @Carlito said about wordcrawls. They're really fun because there's no time to think or doubt or regret. They kind of throw you into a stream of creativity and that sudden and total immersion can be enough to push you from one to the next. It's also easier to take care of yourself because having timed writing also means allowing for set breaks to stay hydrated and get up and move about, which is really important.
We were born to be amazing.
  








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