Jan 13

Jan 13 Tips to Stop Sabotaging Your Writing

This week in our monthly The Write Place meeting we covered these tips to Stop Sabotaging Your Writing. It brought up some great discussion. If you’ve overcome some of these I’d love to hear about it.

How to Stop Sabotaging Your Writing

Waiting for the perfect time: Are you stalling? If you keep telling yourself that you need 'x' and 'y' to succeed, then it's time for some imperfect action. Fear and perfectionism can keep you frozen in place, chained to an unsatisfying comfort zone. The best antidote is to write something, anything. It doesn't have to be perfect and it doesn't have to be a complete novel. Don't wait for the stars to align or the perfect week of no-distractions to arrive. Start by taking small messy steps forward. Stop dreaming about what you could do in the future and begin now with what you have.

Takeaway: Set incremental, achievable goals, and relish in the successes!

Prioritizing badly (or not at all): In an over-scheduled life, filled with work and social obligations, it’s easy to get stuck in the cycle of ´busyness´. As part of a society that glorifies ´busy´, filling your day with mundane tasks is a difficult habit to quit. If you are reading this and nodding in agreement, try asking yourself what really matters. What do you want to achieve in the long-term? How could you allocate your time accordingly?

Takeaway: Make writing a top priority.

Fear: Stepping outside our comfort zone is scary. Whether it´s fear of failure or fear of success, both are a threat to our self-image. Impostor syndrome, self-doubt and fear of failure are all tied to a lack of self-confidence and feeling unworthy of your own success. While you may not be able to shake this fear overnight there are steps you can take to push ahead.

Takeaway: Choose good mentors & don’t quit.

The Comparison Trap: The more you compare yourself to others the less time you have to invest in your own work. While it's fantastic to have author role models (and we all love a good fangirl/fanboy moment) realize that you are just as capable of achieving massive success. Admire those authors all you want, then put your head down and focus on your own work.