I have a question for all my fellow writers out there.
How often do you overthink your writing?
It goes without saying that writing is our thing. It’s the way we express ourselves and it’s a simple way for us to convey our emotions, feelings and ideas in this crazy world.
But as great as writing is, it can be quite stressful sometimes as it’s very easy to get in one’s head about it.
According to PsychologyToday, writing anxiety consists of any tension or negative thoughts that may come up when one has to work on a writing task. If you’re an overthinker who also writes (in any capacity), your mind, which can be your greatest asset when creating, can really get in the way of you producing your best work.
So, here are 6 things you may worry about at any point during the writing process and some tips on how to get over them.
1. Am I even a writer?
So you have a story to tell and you decide to tell it through the written word. Buuuuut who are YOU to consider yourself a “writer”?
It’s not like you are a published author with millions of readers and you certainly don’t have a PhD in literature or English (if you do, ignore this point!).
Wrong! If you have something to say and a story to tell, you’re a writer. Period. Don’t let anybody tell you differently.
What to do instead: Writers write no matter what. So do what writers do and write!
2. The dreaded word count
You have an essay or chapter or article to write but you can’t get yourself to start because you are paralyzed by THE WORD COUNT.
The #1 way to get me to not want to write is to give me a word count to follow.
The truth is, no matter the context of what you are writing (ex: writing a book), having to follow a word count can be incredibly intimidating.
Do you fill the page with incoherent content just to fill the space or do you just forget about the word count altogether?
Having to follow a word count is my absolute least favourite thing to do whenever I write. I’m a very concise writer and I believe that if you’re able to tell your story in a succinct and effective manner, it shouldn’t matter how many words it has.
What to do instead: Break your work into smaller sections that you can tackle at different times. It will make the task a lot more manageable.
Also, consider writing your draft in a notebook or the notes app on your phone and making adjustments later! In my case, since I can’t actually see a word count, doing this helps me not panic about it as I’m writing, and it helps me write a lot more naturally.
3. Perfection, perfection
We’ve all been there…
You want to produce the best article or essay ever so you spend days editing and re-writing it. You even obsess over how to write the perfect introduction so maybe you never even start!
Or, maybe you beat yourself up because your first draft is not very good even though we all know that 99.9% of the time, the first draft will suck. That’s why it’s called the FIRST draft (and thank God for that!)
What to do instead: In order to succeed and become confident as a writer, you NEED to leave perfectionism at the door!
Your writing will probably never be perfect and that’s okay. It doesn’t have to!
Start with something. Anything! A word, a syllable! Seriously!
Put something down so that at least you have something to work with. Give yourself permission to fail and make mistakes. That’s why we have this beautiful thing called EDITING (which I personally think is the most fun part of any writing task).
You just need to start and keep writing. The key here is that the more you write, the better at it you’ll get!
4. The deadline
You may be working on a project that’s due many months down the line but you just CAN’T STOP THINKING about that due date. So much so that you place all your focus on anticipating the due date and you don’t spend enough energy working on the actual project itself.
When it comes to deadlines, if it’s not an immediate one, we feel like we have all the time in the world and so we chill, sit back and relax and wait for our work to write itself….until it becomes VERY IMMEDIATE and we start panicking.
What to do instead: It helps to consider your deadline and break down your work into small actionable steps. For example: pick one day to create an outline, another to write one paragraph and so on. This will help you make consistent, incremental progress towards your deadline. It will also prevent you from getting overwhelmed if you leave everything until the last minute.
5. Procrastination
What I love about writing is the flexibility of it but I have to admit, sometimes it’s also one of the most annoying things about it.
You sit down to write then you remember there’s an email you didn’t respond to. And you forgot to water the plants. While you’re at it, why not get a snack and catch up on your favourite Netflix show…you get the point.
Sitting down to write can feel like one of the hardest things in the world. This is especially true if you are writing for yourself and you don’t have to be accountable to anybody. But it helps when you realize one important (albeit not very pleasant) truth…
Procrastination is a part of the process!
It took me a while to understand this but I now accept that if I’m working on a writing task, I’m probably going to procrastinate at some point.
But the good news is that time spent not writing, is actually time spent mulling over ideas and not rushing the process!
Or maybe this is just my way of making myself feel better for procrastinating so much!
Nevertheless, understanding this has helped me stop beating myself up every time I have to sit down to write and I just don’t feel like it!
What to do instead: Maybe you procrastinate because you just don’t feel like writing or you’re so worried about it that you just don’t start. Whatever the reason, self-reflecting on why you procrastinate can help a lot.
Moreover, working in small increments of 15-30 minutes can help make the writing process a bit less daunting so you can actually start. And after each bit of progress, give yourself a small reward–you deserve it!
6. Intellectualizing it too much aka…Overthinking!
Writing doesn’t have to be so serious all the time (or any of the time for that matter)!
If you worry constantly about word count, deadlines or how great/smart/talented you sound, you are taking away from the fun of it and you’re not enjoying the process of telling a story and sending a message through your words.
What to do instead: Stop putting so much pressure on yourself! Just write however you need to have the most fun with it!
Remember…
Anytime you sit down to write anything is an opportunity for you to have fun and tap into your creative side. Don’t get in the way of that by being in your head so much!
