No Such Thing as Writer’s Block
“Your creative brain doesn’t have any bounds. It’s limitless, endless, and has no worry about judgment.” — Azul Terronez
Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in your head when it comes to writing a book. One of the biggest challenges I hear from writers is fear: fear that their book will suck, no one will read it, or their peers will think it’s bad. This is a common fear that can keep us from writing our books or finishing because we want to please other people.
In reality, whether or not your books are good or bad is not up to you. Readers get to choose what is good or bad. You don’t need to be better at writing or have a better idea than anyone else. Your book is meant to come out of you because you are its unique messenger.
On this week’s episode of “Authors Who Lead,” I talk about our biggest fears as authors and ways to help silence those fears and get motivated to write our books.
Fear as Fuel
Our lizard brain wants to protect us from what we fear. Our creative brain is where our best work is done, so when we have fears it keeps us from taking action. To help us through this we need to learn to silence those fears. In fact, I’d like to transform that fear or challenge into something more motivating.
I want you to think of fear as fuel for your creativity by reminding yourself that feeling that fear is exactly what you need. That’s the motivation and reminder that this is authorship. It feels uncomfortable but it means you’re on the path of being an author. So trust it, and use that fear as fuel.
Writer’s Block
Another fear authors have is having several ideas at once and not knowing which one to focus on. They may have life experiences and expertise or inspirations in several different areas, so picking one idea is challenging. This may cause what many people call writer’s block.
The truth is that there really is no such thing as writer’s block. It may feel real and that you’re stuck, but it just comes from having too much on your mind instead of too little. It’s all right to stop and acknowledge those doubts, fears, distractions, and multiple ideas through your writing by journaling or doing an eight-minute writing sprint each day. Once you empty your head of those thoughts, you’ll release the block of emotions and ideas and be able to concentrate on your writing again.
In this podcast, I also share:
- You don’t have to do this writing journey alone
- What the first steps are to start writing a book
- How having too much information about writing and craft can be overwhelming
- That having clarity and focus is more important than having more time to write
- How to visualize your book
- Why an outline won’t help finish your book
- What I mean when I say books aren’t words
I’m so grateful that you listened to this podcast. I appreciate anybody who leaves a review, it really helps inspire us to keep contributing and giving content here.
What was your biggest takeaway from this episode? In the comments, share your biggest challenge in writing your book.
That’s all for this week. If you have a message inside you that needs to be written, know that you can write and publish the book that’s been on your heart. Don’t delay – get out of your head, put words on the page today, and make a movement with your message!
Episode Resource:
TEDx Talk
Book Coaching
Press Publish
Authors Who Lead
Fiction with Purpose
Mandala Tree Press
The Leaders’ Circle
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