The Fears of a Writer

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  • #25989
    Snapper
    @dragon-snapper
      • Rank: Chosen One
      • Total Posts: 3515

      Curiosity has overtaken me once again…*flashback to the Mind of a Writer* *gulps and dons protective cloak* Okay, I’m ready.
      What, may I ask, A writer’s biggest fears? Any Fears, or what a writer finds courage in? It can be anything, tangible or intangible: writer’s block, failures or success, ladybugs?

      ☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀

      #25990
      Daeus
      @daeus
        • Rank: Chosen One
        • Total Posts: 4238

        @dragon-snapper Here’s a list of 53 responses we got on a survey we did a while ago.

        Other people always being better, or people not liking what i’ve written.
        It turning out terrible
        Hm; I suppose that I won’t be able to make a living writing fiction–my first love–and I’ll have to turn to non fiction. (GASP.) But I know God’s got my future!
        that my writing sucks
        . . . Actually writing? More specifically, that I won’t grow and become better at it.
        Not adequately getting my ideas across.
        That I’ll write something mediocre and fail in getting my message across.
        I think I fear most rejection. I know my writing is not always great- I still cringe at what I tried to write just last year- but I want other people to like and appreciate my characters.
        Not keeping the reader’s interest.
        Not being able to express myself in words
        That I’ll post my writing somewhere and that it’ll be terrible and everyone will judge me but no one will tell me
        Preachyness
        my lack of concentration on a single project
        Not being able to build an audience
        My story won´t be good enough or no one will want to read it
        That I’ll communicate un-truth, intentionally or unintentionally.
        Rewriting.
        Not being able to write my ideas down fast enough.
        that no one will care about it, or that it won’t be good enough
        My biggest fear in writing would be that no one wants to read it. Or that I acidentally delete something important in my books. 😉
        Writing something that contradicts or dishonors God and His Word.
        Not being good enough and not finishing.
        That is actually really bad and I just don’t know, and people who read it think it’s stupid / melodramatic / childish / doesn’t have sound principles.
        Repetition. Like, if I repeat something enough times, it gets boring.
        My biggest fear is that I will give up. My worst critic is myself, in all parts of my life, writing the most. I see every error, mistake, and fault. My biggest fear is that I will ditch the project because my brain can’t figure out how to make my hands type out the exact way I want the action portrayed. My biggest fear is that I will think I’m not good enough because I can’t capture the minute details of my love for God.
        Being boring
        Incompetence.
        It not be good enough
        Probably just worrying about how long it takes me, and how I’m ever going to get all my ideas down on paper.
        That no one will result to read it
        That my stories aren’t “good enough.”
        That either my message or my style is not presented well
        Realizing I never actually wrote anything emotionally provoking.
        That it will be boring.
        Public criticism. Fear of what others think about what I write. That sort of thing.
        Sharing my work.
        Writer’s Block.
        Not being able to figure out how to put my emotions into words, Failure in writing
        Never finishing a novel
        Writing something that, at the heart level, shows God to not fully be all that He is!
        That I will lose the story before I put it down.
        That my writing is too childish or cliche
        That people will hate it
        Not keeping my readers attentions and exciting.
        Failing my readers.
        That it isn’t worth anything, that I’m just wasting my time and that there’s much better things I could do woth my life.
        Not finishing a project.
        Procrastination and that my stories are becoming monotonous
        Reading my book after I’ve published it and finding mistakes
        Including something in a story that is not a personal experience and somehow upsetting or offending someone who has experienced it.
        Not conveying my characters as I see them

        🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢

        #25991
        Snapper
        @dragon-snapper
          • Rank: Chosen One
          • Total Posts: 3515

          @daeus Wow…thanks. There seem to be more than I thought. 😛

          ☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀

          #26007
          R. J. Wordsmith
          @r-j-wordsmith
            • Rank: Loyal Sidekick
            • Total Posts: 113

            By a miracle writing something that is actually amazing, but it always gets shoved to the back shelf so no one ever has a chance to see it.

            What I find my courage in is knowing that if my work can impact just one life for Christ, I’ll have succeeded.

            #26010
            Kate Flournoy
            @kate-flournoy
              • Rank: Chosen One
              • Total Posts: 3976

              @Dragon-Snapper more recently being afraid that I’ve taken on more than I can handle and will ruin something good with my inexperience. But the comfort is, I can only get better from here, and the harder I try, the more I learn. 😉

              Emma Flournoy
              @emma-flournoy
                • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                • Total Posts: 1352

                that if my work can impact just one life for Christ, I’ll have succeeded.


                @R-J-Wordsmith
                Yes.

                #26044
                Ethryndal
                @ethryndal
                  • Rank: Eccentric Mentor
                  • Total Posts: 1013

                  @Daeus I’m not even going to attempt to read that list…yeesh, I didn’t know the writerly kind were such cowards! XD


                  @Dragon-Snapper
                  *gasps* Is it an Elven cloak???

                  Now. I wouldn’t be completely honest if I didn’t say my biggest fear was letting other people read my stuff. Even the thought of giving my writing to someone else makes me want to curl up in some dark shadow and eat an entire chocolate cake. *shivers* Ick.

                  But lately, I’ve been starting to worry about…how do I put this…the power my story can hold. I mean, our writing imparts our worldview, and if we accidentally don’t convey it the way we mean to, we’re broadcasting to the world something we may not believe. I don’t know…that kind of freaks me out. *shrugs*

                  And what do I take courage in? Heh, funny, that one. Unfortunately, it’s too long to write here (Wait, what am I saying? Nothing could be longer than Daeus’ post up there. 😛 ), but I was actually just thinking yesterday about doing a post about it on my new blog.

                  INTJ ➸Your friendly neighborhood mastermind. ➸https://thesarcasticelf.wordpress.com/

                  #26055
                  Northerner
                  @northerner
                    • Rank: Loyal Sidekick
                    • Total Posts: 244

                    I’m afraid of losing my work. That’s happened before and it’s awful.
                    I’m also afraid of publishing a book and finding typos in it, or publishing it and later really wanting to rewrite it.
                    I’m afraid of yielding to pressure to write things because they’re popular, and giving up my own voice and what interests me to please others.
                    I’m afraid of rejection, too.
                    I’m afraid of being inadequate: of attempting some theme too grand for me to understand, so how can I write it? Or trying something that’s beyond me in some way.
                    Lately I’ve been afraid that I’m wasting my time getting a Creative Writing degree, since I’m in my junior year and so far I haven’t learned anything about writing from my writing classes (from other classes, yes).

                    I take courage from the part in Exodus three where Moses asks “Who am I to lead Israel out of Egypt?” and God doesn’t say anything about “you can do it, I have faith in you” or “be true to yourself” or any of the things we commonly hear, but rather “But I am with you.”
                    I also take courage from the fact that some of my readers, who are much older than me and more discerning and mature generally, have praised my writing and encouraged me to keep going.
                    And sometimes I have faith in myself, looking back at how much my writing has improved, and knowing that this is my gift, God gave it to me for a reason, and this is also my voice. I don’t have another talent in any kind of art or useful skill, really. My sister (it’s so easy to compare, you know, and besides she’s my only sibling) plays any instrument she turns her hand to, sings, cooks well, loves people, loves taking care of kids — there’s no way she won’t be successful. I’ve only got my writing. I’ve only got the most powerful weapon in the world: words. And I’m learning how to fight well. I am mastering my skill, and I can sometimes be confident in that.

                    #26085
                    Snapper
                    @dragon-snapper
                      • Rank: Chosen One
                      • Total Posts: 3515

                      @r-j-wordsmith *shudders* I’d melt if my book was hidden beneath others.

                      @kate-flournoy
                      Indeed. I’ve been trying for months to regain what I had been able to do before, write what I love, but I’ve been so caught up in trying to make it world-worthy that I’ve forgotten what I’m actually doing. I read through my old work, and in comparing it to now, I can decide what is good and what is bad. For one part, I am using waaaay too much figurative language… 😛

                      @ethryndal
                      I’m afraid of that too…both, actually. 😛 I’ve been getting better at letting people read it besides the most entrusted folks, but otherwise, it is difficult.
                      That’s the one of the biggest problems I am having with my editing now…conveying the rights things and not accidentaly conveying the wrong things at the same time… But thanks to theme, @aratrea , I know how to fix that. 😀

                      @northerner
                      Ah yes, I do that all too much. Comparing myself to others tends to get me in the dumps, regardless of whether I push it away or not. My writing, I find, gets crummy. Lately, I’ve had to ignore all the other things that I’ve been preaching to myself about writing, and just have fun. That’s when it actually sounds good.

                      My own fears…style and voice, though most of you probably knew that. 😛 But seriously, I’m afraid that my voice is to confusing, or cluttered, or too organized. Just bad literature. I have ideas and plans, but when it comes to the paper: What are words?
                      My confidence comes in that God’s the one who’s given me this talent, and everything is in His hands, His will. I give my writing to Him, and He will do with it what He wants me to do.

                      ☀ ☀ ☀ ENFP ☀ ☀ ☀

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