Shannon Philpott-Sanders

I’m a Scaredy Cat Writer

It may sound incredibly ironic for me to admit, as a teacher of writing and an active freelance writer, that I am deathly afraid of writing. With every project I begin, fear consumes me and I initially panic. I doubt myself and sadly, procrastinate.

And then, I breathe and realize that I’m human.

Fear is a natural reaction for writers. The pressure to create a phenomenal piece that influences the world, inspires a reader and possibly win an award mounts and eats away at our confidence and ultimately, can tear away at the creativity we have the talent to create.

However, fear is also a motivator. I find that if I acknowledge the fear and then literally force myself to begin, it slowly fades. The words keep flowing and the momentum gains speed. In the end, I feel accomplished with a finished manuscript and proud of myself for conquering my fear of writing.

The vicious cycle begins again, though, with the next project.

My students encounter this type of fear in my writing classes. Sometimes, instead of fear acting as a motivator, it can be debilitating for those who have encountered harsh critiques and less-than-encouraging mentors or teachers.

I spend a significant amount of time convincing my students that they can write and provide them with brainstorming tools to jump start their confidence levels before we begin writing projects. We use mind maps, freewriting sessions and outlines to get the ideas flowing, but until writers conquer the fear, these strategies do not always help.

Recently, I came across an article on CopyBlogger’s site that addressed the fear of writing. “7 Quick-Start Techniques for Fighting the Fear to Write” offers sound advice for both me and my students to take to heart.

The advice is simple – set goals, plan content, freewrite, and divide and conquer – yet more than helpful strategies, it acknowledges that writing is often driven by fear.

And, my favorite part is that it points out that I’m not the only scaredy cat hiding behind my computer.

– Shannon Philpott
Blog Entry: May 29, 2010

© Shannon Philpott, 2010. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Shannon Philpott and shannonphilpott.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

May 29, 2010 - Posted by sphilpott | Blog, Teaching, Writing | conquering fear of writing, coping with fear of writing, im scared of writing, overcoming fear of writing, scaredy cat, writing process, writing strategies