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In Bob Mayer's Warrior Writer workshop, he talked about fear. He provided a list of writer fears and wanted us to ask ourselves what we're afraid of with our writing. If we examine that fear we can figure out what we need to work on to reach our writing goals. It was an interesting exercise.
The last few days, as I've looked at the strategic writing goal I came up with at the workshop, I've tried to figure what is holding me back. By that I mean things beyond the business/publishing side and my family obligations. I mean what is it within me.
It's hard, because I'm more pragmatic about things like this. The mechanical engineer in me keeps bringing up Nora Roberts, all the books she's written and the amazing career she's made for herself. I remember hearing her speak at an RWA conference where she said something along the lines of a doctor doesn't get surgeon's block when talking about writer's block. I can easily extrapolate that to what she might say about writers' fears. (Of course that extrapolation might be wrong, but Nora has become that voice of discipline and reason in my mind when it comes to writing!)
I think about my own life. I have a fear of heights that results in physiological responses when I'm afraid. Yet I have no problem getting on a ski lift or gondola to go skiing. Why? My passion for skiing is stronger than my fear. I was terrified to try climbing, and though there have been times when I looked down and froze on a route or have ended up clipping onto an anchor with a trembling hand, I love climbing enough to keep doing it even though I get scared sometimes. Okay, a lot of times. The same is true with my writing.
Do I have fears surrounding my writing? Sure. But writing is both my passion and my job. Creativity is vital to a writer's work, but if I waited for the muse to strike, I'd still be unpublished. If my writing isn't good enough, well that's what revisions are for.
Worrying about succeeding or failing isn't going to get my book written. There are many times (probably at least once or twice a manuscript) I know I'm writing the worst book ever and my career will be over. I'm ready to drown my sorrows in a two-pound bag of peanut M&Ms, but instead I keep writing. Why? Well if this manuscript is the worst one ever written, the next one has to be better.
If fear is stopping you from pursuing your dream whether that's completing a manuscript, submitting it, selling it, making a bestseller list, figure how you can move beyond that. In March, Bob's new Warrior Writer book will be released. That might be a good first step. Get with your writer friends and critique partners to talk about what you fear. They probably know more about you than you think! When I looked at Bob's list of fears and checked the ones I thought might be relevant, my good friend Terri Reed called me on one of them. She was so right!
I'm not trying to downplay writer fears. But writers write. Writers submit. Writers sometimes get rejected. Writers sometime sell. That's just how it works. So get writing and submitting, because if you don't there are others who will!
