Why Writing Is Hard By E. S. Foster
There’s a lot that goes into writing. Sometimes, it’s difficult to keep going when there is so much to take care of and so many techniques to practice. It’s easy to get discouraged when things don’t go the way you want them to. But why is writing so difficult? How do you handle discouragement when things get hard? Here are a few good reasons why writing is hard and what to do about it.
It’s More than just Writing
For one thing, there’s more to writing than just words. Besides editing, outlining, worldbuilding, and putting an entire novel together, writers have to tackle thoughts of self-doubt and stress. It becomes difficult to write when negative thoughts get in the way.
It’s not simple to just push the negative feelings aside. But there are a couple of things you can do to keep yourself focused on writing instead of the things that hold you back.
1) Your writing will get better. All writers begin from the beginning, and their writing starts out rough. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Eventually you’ll see progress.
2) You’re stronger than those thoughts. The fact that you’re making progress proves this because you’re fighting against them. You need to fight them every day, but as long as you show up and keep moving forward, you’ll prove those thoughts wrong.
Want to combat writing anxiety? Check out my post on writing anxiety here.
Writing Takes Practice, Not Perfection
Hemingway once said, “We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.”
Good writers never stop trying to better themselves. However, when they expect perfection, that’s when writing starts to get difficult for them.
Writing takes lots of practice, but it can be difficult and discouraging when the words just won’t appear, or something isn’t quite right. When writers obsess over small details, writing becomes much harder than it needs to be. There are a few things to keep in mind to stop obsessing over perfection:
1) You have time. Your work doesn’t need to be great right away. And eventually the only thing you can do is let things go and know you did your best.
2) You’re getting better. The more you write, the more you practice. And the more you practice, the better you get at writing. When you look back, you’ll see the progress you made.
3) Other people will still like your work. Even if you don’t think it’s “perfect” that doesn’t mean it’s bad. Chances are others will look at it and enjoy what you wrote. No matter what, you should feel proud for completing a piece.
We Put a Lot of Pressure on Ourselves
This one is probably the most obvious. Writers are their own worst enemies when it comes to writing. So when they sit down to write, they engage with their self-doubt, believing they aren’t good enough, smart enough, or experienced enough to write what they’re currently working on.
All of these different fears work to keep writers from moving forward. So in this case the writing itself isn’t difficult. It’s just difficult because writers make it that way.
You can cut out a lot of the difficulty when you get out of your own way. When you sit down to write, remember the following:
1) You’re practicing the art of writing, not the art of being perfect at writing.
2) You’re supposed to learn from your mistakes, practice, and keep trying. Otherwise there’s no challenge to better your craft or any room for growth.
Sometimes putting words down is difficult. But you can make things easier on yourself. Don’t engage with your self-doubt and know that you don’t have to be perfect. Pretty soon you’ll realize that you’ve made tons of progress.
Happy writing!
About The Author
E. S. Foster is a fiction writer and graduate student at the University of Cambridge. Her work has appeared and is forthcoming in multiple literary journals, including Aberration Labyrinth, Alien Dimensions, and MetaStellar. Her chapbooks have been published by Yavanika Press (2022) and Ghost City Press (2023). You can find more of her articles at E. S. Foster.
If you enjoyed “Why Writing Is Hard” check out more of E. S. Foster’s guest posts here.
I recently published my first book, if you would like to read it, please click here.
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