I'm Nervous?

[CrumpleHornedSnorkak]

I have just had an overwhelming feeling of nerves...

I'm working on my WIP just now. And for some reason, I just felt really nervous. Like I'm scared? I'm not writing a horror or thriller...

Is this a normal reaction when you feel your getting somewhere with something? I've said before I know how it is meant to end, but the middle ground (or something...) was harder to know.

I guess I'm scared that I might not be able to get what is in my head onto the paper... (or word document...)

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I get it about half way through when I realise I have no plan, no plot and no idea how to keep going. I think it's very normal.

Cake?

 

[alchemist]

I get it occasionally if I worry I don't know how to get to the end but each time I write a chapter, I get ideas for a new one a few chapters ahead.

And cake will not make you less nervous!

Now, watch as I make someone else nervous...hey Springs! 4958 posts!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

I get it occasionally if I worry I don't know how to get to the end but each time I write a chapter, I get ideas for a new one a few chapters ahead.

And cake will not make you less nervous!

Now, watch as I make someone else nervous...hey Springs! 4958 posts!

Shhhh. That is all.

 

[CrumpleHornedSnorkak]

I get it about half way through when I realise I have no plan, no plot and no idea how to keep going. I think it's very normal.

Cake?

But, I mean it more opposite... Like, I've been struggling to get to a point that will make my plan work better. And now I've got to a point where it is making more sense and my view is clearer... Does that make sense?

I do want cake... But, that is pretty standard.

And cake will not make you less nervous!

It might? Cake does have healing properties. I read it. They've done tests. Statistics. Can't argue with the facts.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

It's just an incredibly close process that, no matter when it hits us, it hits as fear. Cos we have invested so much of ourselves in all of it.

 

[Glitch]

For me it was when I relised I had written the longest single piece I've ever written. Not only that, but I still felt I was in the opening section. It dawned on me that I had to do it right; for the story and the characters.

To get passed it I just kept going. Letting my imagination run wild with the story wasn't helping. So I focused on a small bit at a time.

 

[Esfires]

Nope, not normal. You need to get that checked out immediately. Could be dangerous.

 

[Abernovo]

I can understand.

It's just an incredibly close process that, no matter when it hits us, it hits as fear. Cos we have invested so much of ourselves in all of it.

This sums it up for me. The more I put into a project, the more I have to lose and the more I worry about screwing up (which is just me). But, I recite Shepard's Prayer (however apocryphal that story) and push on.

So, you're not alone. Cake, biscuits, tea and sympathy are usually readily available here, though.
Good luck with the WiP.

 

[Tecdavid]

Well, there was a thread on this very thing:

http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/536273-if-youre-not-scared-youre-not-doing-it.html

And it sparked quite a long-lasting conversation, so, by the look of it, it's something that's crossed each of our minds before. You know, nervousness could probably be considered a good thing, really... You don't feel so comfortable, no, but it does at least mean you'll study your work through critical eyes, and you wont get too complacent about anything that needs a touch-up.
A little bit of self-doubt helps us think "This bit could be better", and not "Meh, it's good enough", while redrafting and editing. So there’s that.

 

[SleepyDormouse]

I get scared because one day I like what I have written then the next it all seems like rubbish.. then I start to doubt my ability to judge how good it is!

 

[AMB]

SleepyDormouse: It has been said writers are the worst judges of their own work. I've heard stories where the book an author thought was one of their worst ended up most loved by readers. We see it in microcosm with the challenges here -- a few times people have had difficulties with the theme, threw up something they weren't happy with, and it ended up getting a lot of votes.

How people then get the work up to a standard that they are comfortable sending out to first readers if they are having difficulties judging their work, I don't know.

 

[SleepyDormouse]

ABM - Yes it must be hard to know when your work is ready to send out, I haven't got anywhere near that stage yet though, just a partial first draft that keeps getting re-written! I guess you just have to take the plunge and hope for the best, after doing the best you think you can with your written piece.

 

[nightdreamer]

Cake will not make you less nervous, but it is great comfort food and has other benefits.