Facing Our Writing Fears And Why It's Actually Not As Bad As It Seems.

Becoming A Writer

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Facing Our Writing Fears And Why It's Actually Not As Bad As It Seems.

Episode 5 of Becoming A Writer podcast.

Rubina G Gomes

Mar 09, 2024

Transcript

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Hello, my writer friends! Rubina here. For our fifth conversation, we are going to talk about facing our writing fears and why it's actually not as bad as it seems.

In 2020, after years of not writing, I decided I had enough. I still had another year of not writing, but this time it was different. This time, I focused on learning and understanding just one key aspect of my writing – to make sure I had a great start to my online writing journey, and that it stayed consistent.

Even though I had focused my attention on one point, determined to make it work this time, fear knocked on my door again. Just like the time I spent learning about novel writing, fear again was letting me know that I would fail.

According to fear, I'd fail

because I might get rejected,
because I am running out of time,
because others are doing it better than me,
because I have never finished what I've started,
because I have never done any 'proper' writing before,
because we don't know if it would be a success or not.

The older version of me would have freaked out again. But somehow, this new, determined version of me saw a different picture.

I realised that the fears I am feeling are not mine but of others. My worries were baseless as I was basing them on what other writers were saying and experiencing. I didn't have proof that I, too, have these fears.

That is when I understood that I can analyse as much as I like. I can find tips, tricks and hacks to give myself the superficial feel of security and certainty. I can continue to sit on the sidelines with my dreams dying in my hands while hoping for a less scary way to make them come true. But there is no getting over my writing fears until I take action towards it.

The only way to get over a fear is through it.

This meant I had to feel all the fears and write anyway.

Fear goes hand in hand with Creativity.

Creativity means to create something into existence. When you create something, you are making it out of your imagination. Of course, you won't know how it'll turn out. And therefore, it is natural to be worried and anxious, to feel fear, for our creative endeavour.

And despite them, you must keep writing your book. Why? Because we love our dream of becoming a writer too deeply to let any fear stop us.

Because we love and care about our Creativity like it's our own child, we don't want it to get hurt. It's vulnerable and fragile (but not weak; there's a difference) and it grew out of our hearts. Therefore, we don't want its heart to be broken by us or someone else.

Whether you like it or not, fear is part of the bargain of being a writer. Not only that but also in being a human. Never in your life will you not think of some stressful and anxious thoughts. And it will happen because a part of you will never like not knowing how the end result will look.

But how do we get through our fears? It's by changing our perspective about it.

Think about this – what is the role of fear in our lives? To keep us safe from danger. Fear helped our ancestors live long enough for you to be here. So, fear is not a bad thing.

Think about this – when does fear pop up? When we are uncertain about our next moment. Our stone-age ancestors had their fear kick in when they sensed a tiger nearby. Our recent ancestors became ultra-focused when crossing the road with cars rushing by. We became nervous and anxious when waiting for the results of our exams. So fear is actually nervous itself because it doesn't know what's happening next.

So when it comes to a writer's life and career, fear will be fearful because, like in all creative careers, it doesn't know how things will happen and/or end. Fear makes you realise this through your thoughts and bodily functions to make you aware of the situation so that you don't hurt yourself.

Now, who cares for us like that? A friend. Therefore, fear is actually our friend.

And since fear is the nervous kind of friend, it will jump to fearful conclusions at the drop of a hat. Our job is to calm it down and let it know which fear is valid and which is not.

A car rushing towards you? That's definitely fear.

Writing one page in your journal? That's not a life-or-death situation, so no need to fear.

Your fears are not there to stop you from achieving your writing dreams. It's just making sure you don't hurt yourself too badly. Thank fear for letting you know about the area of its concern. Then, figure out if it's as deadly as it looks and, if not, what is the simplest way through it.

Well, that's it for today. Next time we meet, we'll talk about how writing is not just a nice hobby. It's more than that.

Until then, keep writing, my friend.