The Fears of a Writer

@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

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.

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

@R-J-Wordsmith Yes.

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.