Any writing problems that you’re experiencing right now could be caused by writer’s anxiety.
Don’t think so? Before you dismiss it out of hand, answer the questions below.
What is Writer’s Anxiety?
Writer’s anxiety is described as having feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical symptoms like increased blood pressure when faced with a writing task.
If you’re not sure if that describes you, answer these questions:
- Are you continuing to put your writing off because you don’t have time?
- Do you sit down to write but find it difficult to get going?
- Are you worried that your writing isn’t good enough?
- Does your writing proceed in a start-stop fashion that hinders your productivity?
- Do you suffer from racing, negative thoughts when writing?
- When you work on your story, are you plagued by worries that it’s weak, contrived, and full of dumb characters?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions—and particularly if you answered “yes” to more than one of them—you’re probably struggling with writer’s anxiety. (Click here to learn more about how weighted blankets can help!)
What does this mean, and how can you get past it?
What Causes a Writer’s Anxiety?
Anxious feelings are never comfortable, and when they come up during your writing time, they can be downright paralyzing. (For anxiety that occurs during the holidays, click here.)
That’s what a writer’s anxiety is: anxiety that shows up when you’re writing or thinking about writing. You may feel fear or apprehension about trying to write the next scene in your story, or worry that what you’ve already written is worthless. You may feel nervous, restless, or tense when writing or engaging in other writing-related activities like blogging or writing your e-newsletter.
As to what causes these difficult feelings, it depends on the writer. You may have had negative experiences in the past related to writing. Maybe a teacher criticized your writing or someone made you nervous whenever you had to complete a writing assignment.
You may feel pressured by your loved ones or peers to create something great and worry your material won’t measure up. You may feel overwhelmed by the mere size of a writing project (such as a novel) or feel a high level of stress when imagining publishing and marketing a book.
It could be that you’re struggling with anxiety in other areas of life too, and find that it bleeds over into your writing.
It may help you to try to figure out what may be causing your writer’s anxiety, but at the same time, keep in mind that what matters is getting your writing done. Don’t expect that you have to “cure” your anxiety before you can increase your writing output.
Instead, accept that you feel anxious for whatever reason and commit to moving forward with your writing despite that anxiety. It’s not an excuse not to write. See it instead as an unwanted companion, but one you’re going to do your best to ignore.
7 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Anxiety
To help yourself write even when you do feel anxious, try the following techniques.
1. Word Quotas
You may already set daily word quotas for yourself, but if you don’t, they might help you write past your anxiety. If you know you need to get 500 words in today no matter what, it can help you push yourself past how you may be feeling so you can get that quota done.
On the other hand, the word quota may add to your anxiety, so understand that this one can go either way. It may work great if it helps you focus beyond the quality of your writing to your total output, which can help put anxiety in the background. If it only makes you anxious about being able to write that many words at once, you can try bringing the word count down—to 250, for instance.
If it doesn’t work for you, try one of the other techniques here.
2. Freewriting
Freewriting means just that—writing free of expectation, demands, or worry about quality. You don’t worry about grammar, spelling, plot, theme, or any of the rest, but simply let the words flow from your heart to the page.
If you are anxious when writing your story, try freewriting on something entirely different. Freewrite about how you feel today, about a character you’re developing, about how you feel about your story right now, or even about your anxiety.
The beauty of freewriting is that it helps break down any barriers between you and the page. Once you’ve written successfully for 5-10 minutes, you’re likely to find it easier to transfer back to your story. If not, continue to freewrite daily until you feel some of that anxiety fading.
Simply set your timer for 5-10 minutes and write. Tell yourself that you can throw it away when you’re done if you want to. Permit yourself to be yourself on the page.
Commit to a daily practice of freewriting and it may help you to gradually feel more confident and relaxed whenever you approach your project.
3. Rituals
Creating rituals around your writing can help you stick to the habit no matter how you feel. Start with a daily writing time, then pick a place and go there every time. Fix the same cup of coffee or tea before you start, wear the same sweats, read a poem from the same collection, whatever works for you.
The more you create a habit around writing the harder it will be not to write, even if you do feel anxious. As long as you stick with it for at least two weeks, on that third week your body and mind will be ready to write. If you don’t write, it will feel weird.
Your body will be ready to sit in that chair, your taste buds ready for that cup of coffee, and your brain thinking about your characters. Even if you feel anxious, the rest of you will pull you toward your writing, and away you’ll go.
4. Colored Paper
Sometimes what you need to get past any anxiety is to tap into your inner child’s joy for creativity. There are a lot of ways to do this, but here’s one: use colored paper. You can use a few stacks of sticky notes, or just regular paper in different colors, then choose your favorite and start writing.
When you get tired of that one, switch to another color. Go by your mood, your character’s personality, the setting, or whatever strikes you.
You can also try colored pencils if you prefer, or colored notecards. The key is to feel like you’re playing so you can shed some of the worries about your writing being good enough and get completely lost in the joy of creation.
5. Think Small
If you feel anxious because of the project you’re working on—maybe it’s a novel or other large project—try shifting to something smaller, like a short story or even a poem. Cutting the size of the project down can make it feel more manageable, which in turn, can diminish your anxiety.
If you’re working on a novel and want to finish it, try focusing on a single scene instead of the whole book. Start a new file if you like, to help your mind accept that this is something much smaller and therefore easier than the larger project you were working on.
Some writers continue to use this method no matter how experienced they become, simply to manage their anxiety. A large project like a novel can make anyone a little nervous, so tell yourself that today, you’re working only on one small scene and try to put the enormity of the rest of the project out of your mind.
6. Lower Your Expectations
This one works for all sorts of writing issues, and you can use it to deal with anxiety too. The idea is to permit yourself to write badly. You’re just practicing, tell yourself, so it doesn’t matter how the writing turns out.
If you’re afraid of messing up your story, write in a different file and if you like it, you can copy/paste it back.
7. Collaborate
If you feel anxious writing on your own, how about writing with a partner? The two of you can help each other get past sticky plot points and other blocks, plus you can each give the other feedback on the work, which can allow you to feel more confident when going to publish.
The support of another author can also be just what you need to manage your anxiety as you move forward together. To try it, reach out to another author you feel you may have a kinship with and suggest a trial project such as a short story to see how it goes.
If it works out, you can move on to a larger project. If not, maybe another partner would be better suited. Don’t be afraid to try again.
How do you deal with writer’s anxiety?
These are all excellent tips for dealing with a writer’s anxiety. Thank you, Colleen!
Thanks, Jan!