Writing is scary, but you’re not alone!

A common problem among writers, especially the ones just starting out, is fear.

The harshest truth about this is the real writer will spends months, maybe even years wanting to write, thinking about writing, and dreaming of their life as a writer before finding the courage to actually start. And that’s okay because writing is scary.

I myself thought about my story for nearly a decade before finding the courage to finally begin writing it.

People are often under the misguided impression that writing is easy; that those who make a living as authors have a cushioned life. But the reality about being a writer is that the wall in front of us is far greater than just getting our work published.

To write a book of fiction is to create an entire world, and unlike other arts, for an author the entire story is already established in their mind. They may not have all the minor details fleshed out, but they usually know the foundation, the middle, and the end. They see the whole picture, as well as the work before them in order bring it to fruition. This makes actually reaching the starting line that much more daunting. Before you even start you need to get over many hurdles of fear:

Fear of never finishing. Fear of it never getting published. Fear of people disliking it. Fear of discovering “Oh. My idea wasn’t good after all.”

The real truth about writing is that it is an art about overcoming the fear of self-doubt.

But for those of you, like myself, who are just starting out I have this to say. You are not alone!

There is a huge community of writers, and the vast network of support they offer even to beginners is incredible.

On twitter alone, some of the best support you can find will be found using the following hashtags:

#writefightgifclub #turtlewriters #5amwritersclub #authorconfessions #fantasymonth Then of course #amwriting #writerslife

When I finally started writing, I wrote without thinking. I knew the story I wanted to write, but I had no idea how to start it, so I just started writing anything. I wrote a scene, and eventually tied my story and character into it, and then later, after I had the beginnings of a novel did I go back to write the beginning best befitting my story.

It’s okay to be afraid. It’s okay to tell yourself you’ll do it tomorrow. It’s even okay to never start. But just remember that for all those fears you might be confronting, you never need to do so alone, so don’t lose hope.

Dream – Imagine – Create

A.