My Greatest Writing Fear. What's Yours?

Melissa-C-Water · Post by **Melissa-C-Water** » 14 Jul 2015, 09:33

I can relate to that Keyana.
I fear rejection too. I used to have grammar issues in my first editions and that horrified me.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 14 Jul 2015, 13:16

Melissa, I absolutely don't judge anyone for struggling with eating disorders or being on the psych ward. I myself have never had an eating disorder. I don't see it as a stigma, though. I see it more as a difficulty that should be worked through. Everyone has issues, right? Like the ketchup that won't come out of the bottle. Let me know when the review of your book posts, and I'll check it out!!

~Meg

Melissa-C-Water · Post by **Melissa-C-Water** » 14 Jul 2015, 13:22

Thanks Meg for your views.

And yeah, I would let you know

-- 14 Jul 2015, 13:23 --

Your book rated 4 out of 4? Im gonna go check it out

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 14 Jul 2015, 13:24

Ooh, great!! Here's hoping that your book gets 4-stars too!!

Layla_20_20 · Post by **Layla_20_20** » 15 Jul 2015, 12:01

Well I think that everyone who writes has some writing fears to address right! Otherwise we wouldn't be writing about things that need to be thought out and written properly in the correct way. My greatest writing fear is that I might do too much research about a topic that I find compelling and then when writing miss the point that I am trying to make. Additionally, I would also say that my second big fear is - am I using the right tone for the book that I am trying to write.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 15 Jul 2015, 12:04

Welcome to the forum, Layla!

I've noticed that Nora Roberts is guilty of your first comment. She over-researches something and then her books almost read as if she's bragging about her huge body of knowledge on said topic. I bet anything that you're a better writer than she is, though.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 15 Jul 2015, 12:19

Melissa-C-Water wrote:I fear being seen for the subject matter that is stigmatized. Viewed negatively.
My memoir is about self harm and eating disorders and going in and out of a psych ward. Its the kind of thing that many don't understand and judge a person negatively for it.
My readers are mostly people who deal with that sort of thing so they relate to it and find it comforting, but when I present it to someone who hasn't been there in any way I fear being judged harshly. I submitted my book for review and its something I think about.

First of all, I don't think that people today -- people whom you value, anyway -- will stigmatize you for problems you've had, and that they will instead be sympathetic. Those people who judge you and criticize you are chaff in the wheat of humanity.

There is also the technique of removing yourself from the equation -- that is, writing in the 3rd person "Janet checked herself into the voluntary psych evaluation ward..." and so on. Writing about your own experiences but setting them into another persona, "Janet Mitchell" or whomever, and writing in that mode. Many self-confessional authors do this and it's a way of presenting the material to readers but at the same time distancing yourself a bit from the subject.

-- 15 Jul 2015, 12:26 --

keyana_taylor wrote:My greatest fears are writers block, rejection, and having tons of embarrassing grammar issues. Being an English Major I feel like people expect you to always get everything right. It's just like any other craft, if you don't continue to grow and expand it it begins to fade. Sadly this is where I am beginning to find myself.

My only advice there is to just keep plugging away and finding your talent, the honing it more and more. You will never advance your skills unless you practice them continually. And also, read. Read a lot, because the very act of reading good literate fiction or prose will embed those correct usage techniques into your mind all the more.

I am kind of lucky in that I've always been a terrific speller and also very clean on grammar. But that doesn't make me a writer nonetheless. My failings are with style and rhythm, skills that I've learned more and more as I continue to write and re-write my fiction. And it works, let me tell you. Things that I struggled with a few years ago -- sentence rhythm, syntax, dialogue, and such -- these don't "come naturally" to me but they are much much easier.

So ---- keep writing and writing and revising till you're blue in the face, and then revise again! Only by keeping at the task can you develop your style and technique (as well as mechanical stuff, spelling and grammar). Never give up.

As for rejection? Happens to all of us. If I were to have printed out all the rejections I've had for my writing? It would be a huge stack of trash! But I keep working and submitting.

Writer's Block? Just write something else for a while -- if you're stuck on a romantic passage, for example, just leave it sit for a couple days and write maybe an action sequence or other portion of the book or story you're working on. Write something different! Then you'll find that your "block" on the romantic passage is now gone. But never stop writing. That's the wrong way to erase writer's block and it ensures that your efforts will grind to a halt. Do some other writing task instead, maybe work on a totally different story for a bit, and that block will ease up. Promise.

Cee-Jay Aurinko · Post by **Cee-Jay Aurinko** » 15 Jul 2015, 12:40

@ to all writers worrying about typos.

This is kinda bugging me. There's a question vibrating off the surface of my teeth. I'm going to ask you guys one question, whoever you are, so just know that I'm not being sarcastic or anything. It's just something I have to ask. Have you guys heard of Microsoft Word?

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 15 Jul 2015, 12:43

Layla_20_20 wrote:Well I think that everyone who writes has some writing fears to address right! Otherwise we wouldn't be writing about things that need to be thought out and written properly in the correct way. My greatest writing fear is that I might do too much research about a topic that I find compelling and then when writing miss the point that I am trying to make. Additionally, I would also say that my second big fear is - am I using the right tone for the book that I am trying to write.

Don't worry about "too much research" at all! Regardless of the time spent, that research will come to fruition some place else, sooner or later. If your worry is that you'll put too much of the research into your writing, that's a legit concern -- no reader wants to be lectured to or given a "class" in something -- they are reading for entertainment. So yeah, do the research and save your notes in a "catch all" file for maybe using later, then cherrypick among these research notes for specific things that you want to insert into your story but not so much as to belabor the reader.

An example from my own recent novel... I wanted a little change of scenery away from the city of Houston where my story takes place (and where I live). So my new love interest for my own private eye is a trauma surgeon originally from New Zealand, and just to add variety to the story, I made her a huge fan of recreational sailing.

Now I know zero, that's zero, about sailboats. So I went online and found a gazillion things about sailing -- brand or model of boat, glossaries, how to set sail, how to navigate, tons of stuff. And so I saved it all in a big disc file "sailboats" and then read it over and excerpted only enough info to set the scene and make it sound realistic. I used maybe 1/100th of the info that I'd saved. And yeah, at first I put too much into the story and after re-reading it, saw that it was overdone, so I cut out a lot.

Lesson to be learned: Research the dickens out of your subject and save it all in a disc file for your later use. Then very carefully pick and choose what works best. Revise and revise and revise again.

As for not using the desired tone or imagery or style? There's no real magic about this. It takes time to develop your writer's "voice" and the only way to do this is to write, write, write. It will come to you, guaranteed, if you work at it. Sure, it takes time, but any skill worth having takes time to develop. If anyone could sit down and write an intelligent and interesting novel first try in a month or so of typing, they'd have to award a whole lot more Pulitzers, hey?

Threadend · Post by **Threadend** » 15 Jul 2015, 13:48

moderntimes wrote:I don't quite understand the distinction of writing that you "do for yourself" and writing that has been published.

For me, they are the same. I would never write except that I want to write and that I enjoy the process, even if I'm getting paid for it.

Please explain further, okay? And I enjoy Sylvia Plath, too. Just don't emulate her, right?

haha, don't worry. Not planning on emulating her!

I realize my wording is a bit poor on that description. All writing I do is writing I enjoy. By writing for myself, I mean my daily journal, poetry, things of that nature. I have a very odd relationship with my personal writing because I struggle to see the positive within it. I don't tell myself that I spent my time right, etc. Which is ridiculous, because having multiple journals a year allows me to see how I've changed and to keep practicing. Really it all comes down to me struggling with my self confidence with writing. It certainly needs to improve, and I'm trying! I hope this made sense. I know my first response was a bit wonky.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 15 Jul 2015, 15:27

Don't sweat wonky -- all of us writers are weirdos (at least I know I am, ha ha).

A personal journal is absolutely a different thing from writing for publication, or just to share. Such a diary should of course be kept personal and maybe it will aid you in reflections or later use as a jumping off point for new writing, without disclosing the actual personal reflections themselves.

-- 15 Jul 2015, 15:28 --

Leon Durham wrote:@ to all writers worrying about typos.

This is kinda bugging me. There's a question vibrating off the surface of my teeth. I'm going to ask you guys one question, whoever you are, so just know that I'm not being sarcastic or anything. It's just something I have to ask. Have you guys heard of Microsoft Word?

Problem is, it does catch tpyos for sure, but it's not able to discern between "they're" vs "their" vs "there" and other things like plural possessives and so on.

The best proofreader and spellchecker is still between the ears.

zeldas_lullaby · Post by **zeldas_lullaby** » 15 Jul 2015, 17:32

Leon!! It doesn't catch my typos. If I accidentally type "is" instead of "it" or "in," then I'm in trouble!! If I accidentally make a verb past tense instead of present tense, then I'm in trouble!! Suppose I meant, "He plays the piano quite well," but I type, "He played the piano quite well." OOPS!! Aaaargh!! You've poked the bear now!! (Just kidding. It's all good.)

Threadend, you've got to change your negative cognitive schemas. Instead of thinking, "That was a massive waste of time," force yourself to think, "That was useful, therapeutic, and helpful," etc., when you journal. I can personally attest that I became a good writer by practicing in journals. It is never a waste of time.

Modern Times, I'm in complete agreement about stigmas.

Lilly · Post by **Lilly** » 15 Jul 2015, 19:22

My greatest writing fear is cliches

I would hate for a reader of my book to go away and say that was to cliche as I have done many times to other books.

ShannonLove · Post by **ShannonLove** » 15 Jul 2015, 19:55

Like you, I fear self promotion. Equating it to nagging, "Buy my book! Buy my book!" I assume it has a certain annoyance factor. I suppose I feel a little like Sam I AM trying so hard to sell his green eggs and ham. If I could only get them to take a bite, perhaps they would like it in a car and near or far. But, alas I do not have his persistence.

bluefrog · Post by **bluefrog** » 15 Jul 2015, 22:20

I agree with the person who said rejection. It's hard to get past the feeling from school of having to get "good grades". This is especially true because my parents pushed that so much