If you're not scared, you're not doing it right?

[Teresa Edgerton]

Assuming it was merely misguided advice was the more generous interpretation, Peter, because, actually, it read a lot like you were insulting a fellow forum member.

If giving you the benefit of the doubt is disingenuous, I'll remember not to do it another time.

To return to the topic -- which was not, originally, critiques -- I think the degree of anxiety one feels is largely a matter of personality. Some people are just naturally more sanguine than others. It doesn't mean that they are less dedicated to improving their own writing.

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[HMart]

As to the OP, scared is what anyone should be in any endeavor that's worthwhile and shows a semblance of personal effort. If you push yourself into the unknown, it's always a good thing to have an element of scared.

My gripe is with the people the try the dentist approach. As in a description of "Oh that was the worst experience I've ever had. They drilled for what felt like days and the pain was extraordinary! I had to...", just to describe a simple filling.

Writers do this a lot.

It's not that complicated.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I think there's far too much seriousness developing in this thread.

You should all be writing, instead of talking about writing.

 

[Galacticdefender]

You should be writing, instead of telling us to stop talking about writing!

 

[mithril]

Yes this thread does seem to have touched a few nerves... and that wasn't my intention at all

If I understand right, the long and short of it is that it's ok to be anxious and it's ok to be scared. It's also ok to not be scared and have fun. Just remember to not get overconfident but having some amount of confidence would be good . Keep trying to improve your craft and take advice/critiques in the spirit in which they are offered. When dispensing advice/offering critiques, be honest and if possible a bit tactful.

Did I cover everything?

PS - Is there a way to have the spellchecker on while composing a post? I can't seem to find it

 

[Bowler1]

Well said I Brian, that's twice I have done that this week!

There is nothing wrong with confidence, it would be a word used with me all the time. Each to their own, as long as we're knocking out the words in the process!

 

[chrispenycate]

Well, it's obvious I'm doing things all wrong, but that's no surprise; I've been incapable of following the conventional path as long as I've known me.

What have I to be scared of? Rejection? I expect rejection, at least as a starting position. My writing style will never be universally appreciated (which doesn't mean I'm not trying hard to improve it, but half a lifetime's linguistic isolation gives an inescapable alien viewpoint), my characterisation could take some polish, even my sentence structure is not the easiest to follow… How could I not anticipate the things I consider ready to expose to the world coming home crying, incapable of surviving in the wildly competitive outside environment?

Should I worry about snide remarks? People have been making those to and about me for many decades. Probably jealousy, in which case they can be held up as compliments; I scare somebody.

Scared I'll have to redo things? Of course I will, that's a given. But, since I'm not under commercial pressure, nobody can force me into a position where I don't approve of the final result. Worst case is euthanasia (which, with the number of different versions hanging around in different places, is more like cryostorage, or heavy-duty hibernation, anyway).

Oh, and the spellchecker is in your browser, not the site itself. I could tell you how to access it in mine (Safari, in French; édition/orthographe/verifié l'orthographe pendant la frappe, in Firefox it's preferences/advanced/general/check my spelling as I type, Opera will only check already typed text when you specifically ask it to – see, completely different locations, different techniques) but you'll have to set up your own system to your own needs.

 

[Brian G Turner]

You should be writing, instead of telling us to stop talking about writing!

I was on a tea break.

 

[Coragem]

I think there's far too much seriousness developing in this thread.

You should all be writing, instead of talking about writing.

Good point … although those of us who get anxious about writing may do so because we take things too seriously.

Anxiety (as opposed to justified fear) is roughly defined as "overestimating problems, underestimating one's ability to cope". Or giving things too much importance. Or taking things too seriously!

Often I have fears about my next scene (will I do it justice, can I carry off my plan, will an agent one day spit on it, can I complete it before x or y date) because I take it too seriously. Actually, one scene doesn't matter that much. Or one attempt at one scene doesn't matter that much.

Coragem.

 

[Vertigo]

As to the OP, scared is what anyone should be in any endeavor that's worthwhile and shows a semblance of personal effort. If you push yourself into the unknown, it's always a good thing to have an element of scared.

I like that HMart!

I have tried to express why writing scares me a couple of times in this thread, though not very well. This is possibly because I'm not really sure exactly what it is that scares me. However HMart's comment comes close to it.

And what is more important is that that fear feels right to me; it feels necessary. That fear is the core of my own personal and truly honest critique. It is like a control.

However it should be a control without being in control.

And it is a mistake to think that means writing is not fun. To use my earlier example of climbing, fear is one of the key elements that makes climbing fun and exiting. It is, as I said above, a control on my actions whilst climbing without being in control of them.

 

[Flugel Meister]

What scares me is the prospect of mass rejection. Or more accurately the possibility of never getting published.

I have an entire universe mapped out in my head and on paper, but to leave it there, knowing that the general public never got the chance to see it terrifies me. I kneed to share it. And if possible, get paid for it as well.

But I recently took the plunge and submitted my MS to MBA and Caroline Sheldon. MBA came back with a no, and I'm still waiting to hear from Caroline. I was both disappointed and pleased at the reply from MBA, mainly because I'm finally trying for publication. But it still scares the crap out of me!

 

[Broamalia]

Welcome Broamalia, you picked a good thread to join us on. You will get somegreat support on here, and we'll do what we can to help, like friends should, however.....

Like all good friends, there will be days when you'll want to punch our lights out!

In the end we all want to do the same thing, which is writing. Being worried does help produce better results, focuses the mind!

thats beautiful, and more than i could have hoped for. i agree with you and the OP. I feel like those fears of being rejected, of mis-representing myself, or of fulfilling my potential are all self-perfecting mechanisms, and very powerful tools. Just like any power tool, if used correctly you can craft something great, but used without thought, discipline, and determination it can cripple you.

Its very hard, sometimes. Keeping faith in myself, that my voice matters and that i have words worth hearing, is the most challenging. Exposing myself, my true thoughts, is also something ive never really done... stories seem to be the only avenue of expression for me, so im trying to keep the ball rolling... what else do i have?

Thats a big part of the fear, i think, the existential aspect- that this is the only path to achieving anything meaningful... of course i question that but its all well and good.

sorry for dumping, hope its relevant.

 

[Dante]

I think there's always a fear that you're not telling your story the best that it can be told. This comes out in the editing process: you're done editing only when you're willing to say you're done.

There's also a fear that the story isn't worth reading and no one will like it.

 

[Tecdavid]

Fears and anxieties are chilling things when we sit down to write or redraft, but it's probably right to say they're helpful. Without them, we might risk overestimating our work, or not bother checking over it that one final time, or making that last ditch effort to improve something that doesn't sit well with us.
It's staves off overconfidence and arrogance, is what I'm saying. I've always thought it's better to be under confident than overconfident ~ you're more likely to brace yourself for the impact of failure or inadequacy, then.

 

[stephen.samuels]

Well, I'm obviously not doing it right, because I've never been scared of the writing. Frustrated and annoyed and ready to tear my hair out and/or shoot random strangers, but never frightened. I had a bit of a "Can I do this?" moment when starting my SF sequel and then again at the beginning of my fantasy, but no fear as such.

Fear of failure? Fear of finishing it and it will be unreadable? Fear of rejection? Perhaps, but that's nothing to do with the writing as such and certainly has no bearing on how I'm writing, so I don't know how such fears could impel me to do it right if I am doing it wrong.

Have to agree with Judge, but I would add that we all have very differing personality types and as such react differently. Its important to remember so people are naturally introverted and as such have a fear of writing based solely upon their fear of verbalizing their inner emotions. Extroverts don't suffer with this so much

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Um, I'm an extrovert: talk the hind leg off a donkey, first to shake hands and offer a business card, no probs whatsoever on that front. Even so, writing, and the offering of it to crits, still is a wholly terrifying experience. Especially as the level of writing grows, and I get closer into what I'm trying to tell. I embrace it, though, so maybe that's the extrovert side, but I still hide in a quivering heap and accept internet-cake from whoever is on the receiving end of my quivering... (Hex does very, very fine cake)

So, I don't think extrovert/introvert neccesarily comes into how scared we are: writing is personal, it's nerve wracking holding this very close part of us up to scrutiny, no matter how outgoing we are.

Now, learning types, that might be different. For an activists (I'm one), crits are the right way to go: learning on the hoof, if you like. Painful, but good. For me 10 crits = one learning point. For a reflector, they may be able to take one crit and get as much from my ten as they'll consider it in more depth.

I shall stop being boring...

 

[stephen.samuels]

Um, I'm an extrovert: talk the hind leg off a donkey, first to shake hands and offer a business card, no probs whatsoever on that front. Even so, writing, and the offering of it to crits, still is a wholly terrifying experience. Especially as the level of writing grows, and I get closer into what I'm trying to tell. I embrace it, though, so maybe that's the extrovert side, but I still hide in a quivering heap and accept internet-cake from whoever is on the receiving end of my quivering... (Hex does very, very fine cake)

So, I don't think extrovert/introvert neccesarily comes into how scared we are: writing is personal, it's nerve wracking holding this very close part of us up to scrutiny, no matter how outgoing we are.

Now, learning types, that might be different. For an activists (I'm one), crits are the right way to go: learning on the hoof, if you like. Painful, but good. For me 10 crits = one learning point. For a reflector, they may be able to take one crit and get as much from my ten as they'll consider it in more depth.

I shall stop being boring...

my point was just as you described (or least that's what I meant it to be). Some people are more open about things which are personal than others. Some people cry and others hold it in.

 

[Vertigo]

Thought I'd just revive this thread with a quote from Roberto Bolano's 2666 that I've just read. Might just resonate with one or two of us (did me)

Ivanov's fear was of a literary nature. That is, it was the fear that afflicts most citizens who, one fine (or dark) day, choose to make the practice of writing, and especially the practice of fiction writing, an integral part of their lives. Fear of being no good. Also fear of being overlooked. But above all, fear of being no good. Fear that one's efforts and striving will come to nothing. Fear of the step that leaves no trace. Fear of the forces of chance and nature that wipe away shallow prints. Fear of dining alone and unnoticed. Fear of going unrecognized. Fear of failure and making a spectacle of oneself. But above all, fear of being no good. Fear of forever dwelling in the hell of bad writers.

 

[mithril]

Fear of never even starting writing. Fear of spending your whole life being jealous and in awe of those who do and do it well. Fear of finally writing something and finding out its no good. Fear of accepting you are no good after 20 years of trying... I am sure there are lots more yet to rear

And vertigo this was a very timely revival personally Even though it is almost 4 months since the 'revival'

 

[Jake Reynolds]

Fear of never even starting writing. Fear of spending your whole life being jealous and in awe of those who do and do it well. Fear of finally writing something and finding out its no good. Fear of accepting you are no good after 20 years of trying...

This. ^^

Yep. I've overcome the fear of the blank page, I've overcome the fear of creating character and structuring plot, and I can even cope with never getting published (though of course I want to be), as long as I've written something that I know is the best I can do . My only fear is that no matter what I do I may simply not be or become a good writer. But, as I'm sure is the case with most of us, we write because we need to, not because we need validation, not because we need praise (though it helps), and certainly not for the money. Let persistence be my shield, and defiance my sword.