Writing Stuff Is Hard

As hard as it may be to believe, I don't just sit down at my computer and words magically appear on the screen.

Okay, I didn't really mean that about myself. But I'm sure you've thought something along those lines about some of your favorite writers - "Wow, Scott Westerfeld is such an amazing author. It must be so easy for him to write stuff like this."





Allow me to let you in on a little secret: Writing is hard. Right now, you might be thinking, "Well, of course it's hard. I have to write a ten page paper for my English class by next week, and I have no idea where to start." But it's not just writing that people assign you. Even writing as a hobby is rough. Heck, even keeping up with these little posts on my is tough to do. Why is this so? I've thought about it a bit (actually, not that much, I'm sort of making this up as I go), and here's what I have to say.

Writer's Block is the most obvious of a writer's afflictions. You always get to that point where you just have no idea where to go on. It comes in all shapes and sizes - Whether it's Thursday night and you have to have a blog post ready by Friday morning, or if you don't know what to write about in the next chapter of you novel. There will always come a time when you're so lost what you're about ready to give up on the whole thing altogether.

There's a lot of advice floating around on the internet on how to "overcome" writer's block. Trust me, I've looked at all of it billions of times. The thing about all of these articles is that they're only really suggestions. There's no surefire way to get over writer's block. Sure, it's great to try anything you can find, but what works for me might not work for you. It helps me to do something that allows me to think freely - I'll lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling, I'll go for a walk, or just sit outside in the sunshine. For you, the route to getting out of your writing slump might be to bake a cake or watch reruns of your favorite TV show.

The second, somewhat lesser-known problem that writers have: People. This one applies more to people who are new to the writing industry. It's a sad fact that no matter what you do, someone's going to judge you. I've done it, you've done it, everyone does it at one point or another. When you share something you've written, or anything you've created in general, it's a bit like letting someone hold your most prized possession. You don't know if they'll drop it and break it, or of they'll be careful with it.

The breaking and dropping thing is what a lot of writers are most afraid of. It doesn't matter how many times we say that we don't mind criticism. There is always some part of the writer that's absolutely terrified of being rejected. When you've spent so much time working on your writing, a bad review can feel like a stab in the heart.

That was a really dark metaphor...

Now I'm sure you're wondering that, if writing is such a pain, why do people do it?

Because we enjoy it anyway. Because authors have a story they want to share with the world, and they're willing to put up with writer's block and critics if it means that they can make even one person happy. It's because writers enjoy the worlds and characters they get to create in their heads, and it makes them happy to see that their readers love those worlds too.

Anyway, that's just about all I have to say here. I'll be back next week with another post!