What are you afraid of? Poor sentence structure, such as that question? Or something else?
Writers may not fear ghosts, goblins, ghouls, or other Halloweeny frights. But anyone who writes—and especially those who write for publication—must face his or her fears, or choose some less terrifying profession, such as bomb squad technician.
Some of us dread ridicule. Rejection. Insignificance. Poverty. Shall I keep going? They’re all part of the writing life.
Writing anything takes courage. To overcome self-doubt. To silence the voice of a teacher, perhaps, or the fear of not being very good. Writing for publication means conquering the fear of rejection, the sting of criticism, the imposter syndrome that plagues everyone but the real imposters. Novelist Neil Gaiman famously said,
I was convinced that there would be a knock on the door, and a man with a clipboard (I don’t know why he carried a clipboard, in my head, but he did) would be there, to tell me it was all over, and they had caught up with me, and now I would have to go and get a real job, one that didn’t consist of making things up and writing them down.
Exactly. Maybe you stuff down that fear long enough to pound out a few hundred words. Maybe you tremble before publishing that blog post. Or maybe not. Maybe you’ve been ghosting your work-in-progress, treating it like a sweetheart you can’t quite break up with (there’s that poor sentence structure again!).
Whatever your writing fears may be, don’t give up. Don’t give in. Keep writing. Assault the beachhead of fear and inertia that seems so daunting … until you break through, and look back, and see it for the bump in the road it was.
How about you? What are your writing fears? How have you conquered them? How are you conquering them?
I have learned to face the fear
that once arose with every thought
when experience made clear
that I cannot write worth squat.
Technically, I did OK,
grammar, syntax can be learned,
but those will not carry the day!
plot and character had me burned.
I could get through ten thousand words,
but then the whole thing would deflate
and settle into sour curds
too soon for cheese, for milk too late,
but ’bout this there’s no need to cry,
for life goes on, and so do I.
Andrew, your poems put a smile on my face every time. I’m certain I’m not the only one. Thank you. 😊
Thank YOU, Amy!
Great poem! Clever and perfect rhythm and rhyme.
Since Imposter Syndrome is alive and well inside of me… I must be a writer. 😀
I guess my fears would be not being good enough to make it in the writing world. That I’ll arrive finally at the point of publishing only to discover that I’m too late– the stories I’ve been working on are null to the market. I fear never being able to get to the point where I can publish. I fear wasting years and years of work on a craft that no one will want.
I fear that little voice inside my head screaming at me, “Who told you you could be a writer?”
This post was very helpful, Mr. Hostetler. Thank you.
Fears of social media keep me from building a platform or even wanting to, so I stop at all the wonderful tips given to overcome them. I collect tips like future breakthroughs waiting to happen. Word of mouth only got me 106 books sold in 10 years. When I bring these fears to the Lord, I get the same response: “Keep writing.”
I think we interacted on a networking Zoom call not too long ago. 🙂 After that meeting, I remembered what you said at various times as things on that topic crossed my social media feeds. You have an uncommon and important message for people in a critical decision window. You’re giving people permission to think twice and step back from an unalterable life changing decision. This is in contrast to the many loud voices in society that encourage and applaud this decision.
Your message will become more powerful and effective with feedback and meditation. Whether you notice it or not, your understanding of and ability to communicate your message increases with each sentence you write, various articles you read, and each life story you hear about in various places.
In that Zoom meeting, I recall tossing out the idea of trying to start a small group in church for in person interaction. In hindsight, not my greatest suggestion. I’d guess many Christians would rather turn to anonymous online groups for advice and interaction than attend a group where people know them. I wonder if such online groups might be a good source of research as to common problems and the advice given–both good and bad. Just a thought as to where some Christians on the cusp of making that decision might be hanging out.
A very important post, Bob, thank you. Fear is indeed an enemy. I would never have thought of even trying to get anything published before I became a Christian. I found that following Christ was a great way to defeat fear of all kinds. If Jesus can accept me, (which took me a long time to accept) then the fear of human rejection shrank to insignificance. I praise God every day for the favors He (and this agency) has granted me.
This is so true!!! Once I had a dream the night after I submitted a flash fiction to a competition that I got lots of severe critiques so that I was freaking out hating my story and thinking it had no chance of winning *sigh*
Thankfully I actually did great! (:
Thank you so much for the reminder. I’ve honestly been scared to start outling my WIP in case I mess everything up….but this post has motivated me to try anyway!
My fear is that my writing isn’t good enough. My agent has been shopping one of my historical fiction books to various traditional publishers for about a year-and-a-half now with little success beyond the comment- “it’s good writing but not enough joy.” In the meantime, I’ve kept writing but it gets harder and harder when other writers I know are getting published. For me, it’s not so much about the money (although that would be nice) but about getting out the word that God walks with you through all you experience, the good and the bad. At least that’s what my characters in my saga learn.
Great post, Bob! I love how you can take a scary subject, like fear, and make the reader smile. My favorite line . . .
But anyone who writes—and especially those who write for publication—must face his or her fears, or choose some less terrifying profession, such as bomb squad technician.
Great post, Bob! I love how you can take a scary subject, like fear, and make the reader smile. Your line about the bomb squad technician did that for me!
What a timely article! Thank you, Bob.
I was sitting in church a few weeks ago after a morning of changing clothes six or seven times (some of the ladies will understand), when God impressed these freeing words upon my heart –
“Jody, you don’t have to make such a big deal of yourself.”
This is a new approach for me, but I find it’s becoming a great response to have at the ready when fears of what others will think of me (for good or for ill) pop up. This, of course, includes my fears of what others will think of my writing.
It strikes me that the freedom from making such a big deal of myself makes more room in my brain for making a big deal of God. Which, as it turns out, is a way of embracing the kind of fear better known as the beginning of wisdom : )
First, your claim that being a bomb squad technician was easier than being a writer was absolutely perfect! Spot on and hilarious.
I’ve always hated my first drafts and found myself constantly battling the procrastination bug because of that. Then, at a local writers meeting, a friend quoted a famous author. For the life of me, I can’t remember the author’s name, but the quote was, “You can’t edit a blank page.” That has stuck with me and cured me of the procrastination bug.
I fear sometimes that my work isn’t good enough, or that no one will buy my book once I finally get to publication. I’m stubborn, so I keep sending my work out, praying that the Lord would use my words for His Glory and where He sees fit.
Even when you’re discouraged and doubting your skills as a writer, keep slogging. Keep writing. Keep praying. If it’s God’s will, you WILL see publication. Some of us may never get there, but God surely teaches us through the things we write, whether or not our words reach an audience beyond ourselves.