Confidence: A Writer's Survival Kit

By Matt Barrington

Congratulations! You've made a grand step towards your goal by seeking out information on writing. Just be reading this article, you're making progress toward your dreams.

But let's face it. Writing, even just for fun, is a very scary exercise. It exposes our true selves to the world around us, whether the world knows what it's looking at or not. I've never met a writer who could take every part of themself out of their work and produce anything other than mindless drivel. But in exposing ourselves in such a way, we are preparing to be hurt, be ridiculed, and even insulted for our work. Building a thick skin is vital to the survival of our worlds, and yet how many people with untapped potential have you met who don't write because they're "not that good"? Probably several, and if you don't know any, they might be too shy to talk aobut it.

How does anyone survive as a writer, or artist of any kind for that matter? The answer, as is usually the case, is sublimely simple. We must build ourselves up so high in our own minds that no one else can touch us. We must grow as writers and people to the point that no foolish comment from friend or family member will be felt as anything more than a featherstroke on our skin. It must be felt, there is no way around that, but it must not be felt fatally.

How to grow that big, you ask me? Let me ask you this, how do you get to Carnegie hall? We can achieve confidence in any aspect of ourselves by practice. Day in, and day out, practice, practice, practice. When we dream about writing, think about writing, and find ourselves writing everywhere we go, then we'll find our greatest growth is happening. Become obsessed! Allow yourself to dwell on improving and have fun while you do it! Don't listen to what others say about there being no future in it. We don't write for the future, we write to feel alive in the right now, and if it lasts for the next few nows, more's the better.

Confidence gained through practice is by far the most potent form. Even if you don't feel great about what you're writing, keep doing it. Eventually, even if it takes years, you'll write something great, and you'll know it. When you do, no one can take that from you. It's a moment that will help define you in your own mind as a writer.

Easy Steps To Get Past Writers Block

by Jeffrey Dorrian

Overcoming writer's block has so many prescribed cures that seem like witches' brew, you may as well be trying to get rid of hiccups. My favorite remedy is "just write anything." If I were to follow this advice when I'm stuck in a frustrating blank stare moment, my page would be filled with expletives that would be of no use to anyone, including Lenny Bruce.

If you have no idea of what to say on any given subject, you do not have writer's block, you have a lack of knowledge problem. If you have the facts in front of you and still do not know what to say then you have writer's block. The basic step of gathering enough material to complete your writing task should never be confused with writer's block. Writing takes leg work - tedious legwork. Before the Internet this task could seem insurmountable; but now with worlds of knowledge at our fingertips, I don't want to hear about any problems getting background material on any subject. Learn how to use the search engines well. This should already be part of your writer's skill set.

Genuine writer's block comes when you "just don't know how to say it." You have the information, a basic outline, yet you are not satisfied with the tone, cadence or anecdote provided. It just doesn't feel right. You can't tie your ideas together into one cohesive product that supports the underlying theme you are trying to convey. What do you do?

Take your material and write it out as you have it. Even if doesn't feel right complete your assignment as if it were due today, and walk away. Leave the problem to rattle around in your brain for a while. Now here comes they key. Do something totally unrelated that requires you to pay some attention to your new task - a household chore, returning emails, running an errand. I generally find a physical chore, like walking to the post office to be superior to a mental chore like answering emails. Exercise is one of the great inspirational tools available to us. If you exercise regularly this would be a great time to do that. Sometime during your chore or exercise the answer will pop into your head. That is the way our brains work. Inspiration comes to us all the time. We need to be distracted from the noise that interfering with our ability to hear the inspiration. Once we have changed our focus away from the problem at hand our brain can finally deliver the answer unimpeded. Whether you believe the answer has come from your brain or from the cosmos the answer is always available to us. Sometimes more than one chore is required for distraction. On a big problem it might take a week of chores. Be absolutely sure you have a pen and pad of paper with you at all times, because the answer may be fleeting, or just a partial answer with the remaining portion to show up at a later time.

Most writers are working on more than one project at a time. Leaving one assignment and starting another can also help in getting the answer to a previous writing problem. Remember; never confuse lack of preparation with writer's block. Lack of preparation is a matter of laziness and is a whole different problem to overcome.
About the Author

Jeffrey Dorrian is the webmaster at thesoapguy.com. He has been making handmade soap for six years. "Handmade soap is a little luxury anyone can afford". Premium wholesale soap. Pure and natural soap.