Writer Anxiety

 You don't have to scratch a writer very deep to have them vent about writer anxiety. I suppose that most everyone involved in a demanding activity, particularly one in which we expect a public payoff, suffers from this type of anxiety. It's known by other names such as stage fright or pre-race jitters. What drives anxiety is fear, and for writers it's an acute fear of rejection and fear that you've missed your mark and thereby wasted your time pounding the keys. 

Writing is an intensely intellectual and emotional effort that demands your complete attention. Once you break focus, the mental gears grind to a halt. You can't write with your brain partially engaged. Adding to the challenge, is that good prose can't be formulaic. If you write to a template, the narrative will become stiff, clichéd, and unconvincing. I've heard people say that writing a series is easier than a stand-alone because you've got the world and characters figured out. That's partly true. But that becomes its own hurdle as you now have the issue of bringing in backstory and establishing those same characters and setting in a way that orients a new reader without forcing the returning reader to slog through familiar territory. And there's avoiding similar plot twists. And never, ever plagiarize from your earlier works.

All of this is what makes writing so hard. With practice, the crafting of scenes, understanding how to present details, pacing, that becomes a little easier to handle. But the story-telling part always remains the confounding uphill battle. I remember an interview with Carl Hiassen where he was asked if after publishing so many books, did the writing become easier? He answered that at the moment the writing seems easier, then that's the moment you get complacent and start to suck. 

To be productive in writing, we're advised to mute our inner critic and get that first draft done. Then afterwards, take heed of what Ernest Hemingway said: "The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector."

How then do we tackle writer anxiety? By returning to the basics. Start with BICHOK--Butt In Chair, Hands On Keyboard. Enlist your writing tribe, one with the chops to call you out when you're no longer seeking counsel but procrastinating. Have faith in yourself and in the process. Easier said than done.