"Insecure Writer's Support Group" is a monthly meme host by Alex J. Cavanaugh for writers held on the first Wednesday of every month.
This is my first foray into the "Insecure Writer's Support Group" meme. I've been meaning to join this meme since May, but each time I try, something goes wrong and I end up needing to wait until the next month, etc. Although, I'm very late this month...ugh.
I've been reading a book on the craft that I just borrowed, then quickly purchased that focuses on getting your novel written in 90 days (The 90-Day Novel: Unlock the Story Within by Alan Watt). But, the most surprising thing about it is that is focuses on understanding our fears as we write our stories. It has some great insights into it, but what a perfect time to blog about my own writing fears as I've already figured out a few of them.
In one of the book's exercises, it asks you to quickly jot down in five minutes as many of your fears as you can about writing your current novel. Here's what I came up with for my current WIP (an adult sci-fi horror):
1. I will fail to write a good story, then fail to sell any copies of my book.
2. Act 2 of my story will be super boring compared to Act 1 (which I just wrote).
3. My family will hate me when they read my book.
4. I will get a lot of negative reviews and ratings on Amazon.com, deterring many potential readers from buying my book.
Funnily enough, all of these fears were on the list of common writer fears in the book. Even the one about fearing your family members hating you when they read it. I don't know about your family, but mine can be scarily judgmental!
Isn't all this fear at the heart of our writer insecurities? Our fears cause us to become insecure, although it begs the question of where do these fears come from, anyway? Why are we so scared to write? It's pretty fascinating. How many architects are afraid to design a blueprint for a house? Maybe some are, but I've never heard of any.
I don't have the answer and I find it strange that we all have such a hard time with this. I wish to get to the bottom of it, but it will take time. Maybe someday I'll crack the code. But, one thing for sure is that we fear writing because our stories matter so much to us. If they didn't, we wouldn't bother to write them, or we simply wouldn't fear writing them at all.
What are your biggest fears about writing, off the top of your head? Are they anything like mine?
I can relate to fearing judgment from family members. There is an ideological gap between me and some of my family members, and my personal philosophy is reflected a lot in my work. I know I will be judged somehow. I just decided I have to be genuine and write what reflects me. Otherwise my work won't have any passion in it, and my writing will inevitably suffer for it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in conquering those fears. Believe me, we all have them!
@L.G.: Yeah, I think I may believe some things that just don't align with some of my family members beliefs, so they're not going to understand me. I hope they forgive me for just having my own unique take on life. I've had the experiences I've had and understood them in my own way.
DeleteI agree that you have to write what you believe or your work will suffer. You can't write passionately about something that doesn't matter to you very much.
Thanks for the comment!
Oh my, I have these fears as well-big time about my family reading my book-I think I'll be checking out The 90- day novel myself:) Welcome to IWSG! I've only been doing it for a few months, but it's so freeing to put my insecurities out there.
ReplyDelete@Robin: Yeah, my family's reaction to what I write is such a big fear of mine. Glad to know I'm not the only one who fears this. Thanks for the welcome and, I agree, it is very freeing to blog about my insecurities.
DeleteWelcome to IWSG! My fears are very similar. I think we put so much of ourselves into writing that it becomes scary. It's like we are showing people a secret part of ourselves, undressing our souls, and that's frightening.
ReplyDeleteBut good luck with overcoming your fears!
@VikLit: Yes! Writing is so very intimate even if readers don't actually see how you're putting yourself on the page like how you do. It's so scary to bear your soul.
DeleteThanks for the encouragement!
I worried about what my family would think and they've been super supportive. Welcome to IWSG.
ReplyDelete@Susan: That's good know! I'm probably irrationally worried about my family's opinion, like how you were.
DeleteThanks for the welcome and for visiting today!
It's so nice to meet you. I'm a new follower from the IWSG. I think all your worries are normal and you'll find a lot in common with the rest of us. Welcome to the Group!!
ReplyDelete@Ciara: Nice to meet you, too! Thanks for following and I'm glad to find supportive people through this IWSG group. :)
DeleteWe are so lucky to have such a great group of supportive writers. I look forward to more posts from you.
DeleteWelcome to IWSG. I too share many of the same fears you have, especially numbers 1 and 2. I always thought I was the only one with such anxieties until I discovered this group. IWSG is great for support and reminding you that you're not alone :)
ReplyDelete@Jennifer: Thanks! It's great to see I'm not alone in all my writer fears. Thanks for your support. :)
Delete#3 defines me. Literally. Samantha Paige is a pseudonym I created mostly because I'm concerned about what my family (and friends) will think. I already know my mom doesn't approve of my writing and she's only gotten a small glimpse of it. Let go and just write!
ReplyDelete@Samantha: Sorry to hear that your mom doesn't like what you write. But, I agree that you need to just write what you want to. Thanks for stopping by...;)
DeleteJust popping by from the IWSG :)
ReplyDeleteI think ALL writers have those fears, even successful ones :(
You are definitely not alone honey.
Keep going, never give up, and good luck!
Xx
@Vikki: Thanks for your encouragement! I appreciate it and thanks also for stopping by. :D
Delete1 & 4 are the worst ones for me. There's always a special kind of fear about what unknown people will think of your book. I'm not so much worried about what my family hating me as I would be extremely embarrassed because I would cop a lot of flak. So much so that I would probably end up poking fun at myself or playing down how important writing is to me. I think it might all come down to facing the fear and conquering it. And not letting the fear keep us from going forward regardless.
ReplyDelete@Lan: Yeah, there is a special fear of what unknown people will think, although I know plenty will not like my book and I'll just have to hope it doesn't affect sales. My family hating me would be harder to adjust to if it were to happen. Still, I know I just need to write my story my way, regardless.
DeleteOh, the family thing is so true! They are all avid readers of the genre I write so I don't think I will ever show them anything until it can be purchased in a book store ;)
ReplyDeleteI think the reason why writers are so much more afraid than other professions is because there is no code. Sure, no job has rules for success but, using your example, an architect can rely on his knowledge of geometry, physics, etc. to know if his blueprint will work. Writers don't have any securities that what they write will be good, no matter if they are an aspiring author a bestselling novelist. Yet I thing to a certain degree that fear is healthy, it keeps you humble and continuing to try to improve. So embrace it but don't let it stop you :)
@Katharina: That's a good point to make that writing is so subjective no one can be sure what they've written will go over well with all the people that will be judging it. It's so hit-or-miss that it causes a ton of anxiety. I think fear can be healthy, too, so long as it doesn't stop you from striving to improve and keeps your head on your shoulders. Great points!
DeleteAlthough I have many fears and insecurities about being a writer, my biggest fear is that no matter how good a story I have, or how well it's been plotted out, or how fascinating the characters are, my inability to put those thoughts onto paper will always doom me.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, welcome to the ISWG.
@Ken: I think with lots of study and practice, you can learn to put all those great elements of your fiction into your writing.
DeleteThanks for the welcome...;)
Fears and insecurities don't help us write. I think my greatest fear is that one story I publish will be the one to end my career and no one will buy anything I write ever again.
ReplyDelete@Cherie: I think any author can bounce back from a bad book in time, anyway. Besides, if you have people helping you along the way, you're a lot less likely to write something that will be unforgivable.
DeleteThanks for stopping by. :)
Great post, Cathy! I have an intense fear that I won't get to finish all the stories I want to write in my lifetime. I have a fear / frustration that I can't write fast enough.
ReplyDeleteI found what you said about your family interesting, mostly because I can't even get my family to read my stuff. :)
@Camille: I usually dislike most of my story ideas after a while, so I end up with so few good ones at any given time to worry about not living long enough to write them all. If I did have a lot of good ones, I'd figure out a way to combine them together for one or two great ideas.
DeleteI've had trouble getting my family to read my stuff before, too, so I wonder if I'm worried for nothing. I figure they would eventually read my books, though and I just hope they don't find me appalling afterwards.
Yay for Sci-Fi/Horror - or any kind of Horror. There aren't enough of us Horror writers out there, and I'm so pleased to meet you! :-)
ReplyDelete@Lexa: Hi, Lexa! Nice to meet you, too. My WIP has a horror element, but I don't think of it has a horror novel. More like a hybrid of sci-fi and horror.
DeleteI have the same fears. Amazon and blog reviewers tearing my book to shreds. My family members giving me pitying looks and pointing out how important it is to keep my day job.
ReplyDeleteI try not to think about it, honestly. What will happen, will happen. I'll do my best to write the best novel I can, present it in the best way possible, and whether it succeeds or not, keep on writing. That's all you can do.
@Stephanie: You're so right! What happens will happen and we can learn from our experiences and grow from there. I think if we believe we're on the right path, then all the pieces will fit together as they should. I try to keep my faith high like that, but sometimes it's hard.
DeleteThanks for the visit to my blog!
I think we all fear the reviews to some extent. I keep reminding myself (when critiques set me on edge) that I'd rather get raked over the coals in private by my critters than get vilified on Amazon. LOL Write in spite of your fears and keep striving for improvement. There will be fears and growing pains along the way, but the end result is worth it. :)
ReplyDeleteIWSG #179 (At least until Alex culls the list again. :P)
PS - You might be late for July, but since IWSG is first Wednesday of the month, you're right on time for August. ;)
ReplyDelete@Melissa: Yeah, getting all the negative feedback from crit partners is WAY better than getting racked over the coals on Amazon. I have to hope I can get racked enough by crit partners so the Amazon racking doesn't happen!
DeleteVery nice post. My fear is not writing, as simple as that. Sometimes lifes demands can strangle the time we have for pursuits other than just living. I fear time and its demands on me. As long as I can write the rest will fall into place eventually.
ReplyDelete@Siv: So true. Life can just squander away all your writing time until you have practically nothing left. I fear something related, which is distraction that you cannot avoid. Like, those emergency things that never die down enough so you can focus on your own goal. As long as no one or no thing gets in my way, I can at least work on getting through my fears.
DeleteWow, I can totally relate! Came on over from IWSG as a newbie, great post! The worries you listed are all mine as well - particularly the family one! I'm pretty sure I've used language and scenarios that would get a negative response from my family ;) but if I get an agent who understands me and gets the story, then I won't really mind I think ;)
ReplyDeleteI might need to check out that book. Do you think it's helping as far as writing a book in 90 days? Right now I'm still at the point of fearing whether an agent will ever latch on to my completed MS 9 - for some reason I have less fear about this regarding my WIP. It's definitely a learning curve...Great that you're able to put a name to your fears, and facing them is surely easier once you've recognised what they are!
@Cheyenne: Thanks for dropping by! As for the book I mentioned, I haven't been able to sit and read it much since I wrote this post, so I don't know how well it helps in writing a book in 90 days. From all accounts of others who have read it or taken the author's courses, it does.
DeleteI hope if I understand what I'm fearing that it helps me to face my fears. I think just knowing I'm not alone in what I fear helps me SO much.
Ditto, ditto, ditto.
ReplyDelete