Fear, Procrastination, and the Apparent Lack of Confidence in Writers

How ironic is it that the writing articles that most appeal to me lately are all based on writers' fears? Fear of simply expressing the self, or of rejection, or of not being considered an expert, or of some unconfirmed worthlessness leads an aspiring writer straight into procrastination. At least, that's what I've gathered from the countless numbers of online articles found via my Twitter feed and in each back issue of Writer's Digest I continually rotate.

I love reading these "lack of confidence" articles because I can relate. Or is it more because I want to relate? I want to struggle with other writers--aspiring or professional. Ideas can escape my mind quickly, so in the meantime I can at least read one of these articles on how to "write what I know" with "passion", drafting it out with no respect to grammar. "Just get the ideas out onto the page." Okay, but before that I need to read one more article with tips on how to avoid distractions and how to just plant me arse in the chair. Stare at the damn, blank screen all night if you have to.

Fine. I will stare at the blank screen all night right after I read your related, linked article about avoiding writer's block. Then, I will summarize my new wisdom gained from all the blogs and articles I read when I could have been writing. Then, I will open up that Word file in my taskbar titled, "TitleUnknown", and will edit my newest short story, or novel, or whatever it is before writing a new scene. That way, the story is fresh in my head, as are the lessons learned from all my readings.

Fortunately, I went through this process yesterday so now I only have half of my pages left to edit before beginning that new scene. Unfortunately, I've left my wife (still getting used to saying/writing that because I'm newly married) alone in the living room and she needs my opinion. Jonathan Adler is being featured on HSN and there is a nice looking salt & pepper shaker set. One is a pear and the other is an apple. You can leave them out year round, as their shade of green is presentable across all four seasons.