How to Overcome ‘Writing Anxiety’?

In Today’s Journal

* Quote of the Day
* Laugh of the Day
* How to Overcome ‘Writing Anxiety’?
* From Vin Zandri
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

I took a day off yesterday. I worked on squaring away the electricity for the Hovel, but otherwise I did nothing, including writing.

I wasn’t going to post an issue of TNDJ this morning, but a bunch of stuff caught my attention. So today’s post is partly serious, partly a chuckle fest.

Quote of the Day

“I picked up Writing Better Fiction … and I have to say, quite frankly, it’s the best book on the topic I’ve ever come across. I’ve literally just read the whole thing in one sitting, and I’m so happy to have such a good reference to return to. …. Honestly, [it’s] my number one recommendation to any new writer. And experienced writers.” Ryan Casey, professional fiction writer

Thanks, Ryan.

Just a reminder, Writing Better Fiction is still on sale through November 30.

Laugh of the Day

Person in bear suit attacks cars in insurance fraud scheme.

Seriously, who woke up one morning and said, “Hey, this would be a great idea?” (grin)

How to Overcome ‘Writing Anxiety’?

Three words: Just Freakin’ Write.

How about overcoming the source of the anxiety: the conscious, critical mind?

The story is just a story. It isn’t ‘important.’ So get over yourself and write it already. Shut down your conscious, critical mind and just write. Yes, it IS that easy.

If you need help, consider purchasing a copy of my Quiet the Critical Voice and Write Fiction. I have almost 200 subscribers and a lot of them are drowing in critical voice. And this book is only seven lousy bucks.

Okay, but in case you’d rather not do that, I added a link on this topic to Of Interest today. I admit, I added the link mostly to show you some of the more inane, more pervasive myths. You’ll find the same advice this article provides in most of the how-to books out there.

The author even actually advises you to perform some of the excuses writers use to avoid or put off writing, like “make your favorite brew” (feed the dog, water the plants, vacuum the livingroom, yawn…).

I started to quote more silly myths from the article, but if I did that I might as well copy/paste almost every sentence of the article. I’d rather let you see them for yourself. If you think they’re good advice, you probably don’t really want to write fiction.

From Vin Zandri

From bestselling writer and friend, Vin Zandri

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Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

How to Overcome Writing Anxiety

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………… 490

Writing of Blackwell Ops 31: Jack Temple

Day 1…… 1620 words. To date……. 1620

Fiction for November…………………. 35318
Fiction for 2024……………………….. 872450
Nonfiction for November…………….. 13740
Nonfiction for 2024…………………… 348160
2024 consumable words…………….. 1,044,649

Average Fiction WPD (November)…… 2523
2024 Novels to Date…………………….. 16
2024 Novellas to Date…………………… 1
2024 Short Stories to Date……………… 18
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………..… 98
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)…………… 10
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)……… 255
Short story collections……………………. 29

Disclaimer: Whatever you believe, unreasoning fear and the myths that outlining, revising, and rewriting will make your work better are lies. They will always slow your progress as a writer or stop you cold. I will never teach the myths on this blog.

Writing fiction should never be something that stresses you out. It should be fun. On this blog I teach Writing Into the Dark and adherence to Heinlein’s Rules. Because of WITD and because I endeavor to follow those Rules I am a prolific professional fiction writer. You can be too.

If you are able, please support TNDJ with a paid subscription. Thank you!