by Ellen Buikema

Here I sit, in front of my laptop. The cursor blinks merrily at the top left of the page, maddeningly free of words. The muse isn’t talking. Maybe there is no muse. Maybe I am a fraud. Has this ever happened to you?

Many writers, even professionals, suffer from writing anxiety.

Whether you see this as resistance or low sense of self, writing anxiety can prevent you from finishing that wonderful story that only you can tell best. Or for that matter, from even starting the story.

I don’t know how to start. 

The suggestion, “Just start writing” can be helpful. This way you can get something down to punch up later.

Have a care with surfing the net, falling down rabbit holes while researching, and making online purchases.

Try developing a routine.

• make your favorite brew
• disconnect from the internet, unless you are researching
• set a timer

Having a routine can help set the mood to relax and write. It’s a good idea to move away from your work periodically and stretch. Your skeletal structure will thank you.

Make your writing time brief, to start, and lengthen the time when you are ready. I like to write in “chunks” of time, never more than two hours at a time. But that’s me. Some people can write for much longer stretches of time. There is no wrong here. Don’t pressure yourself.

Start small.

Think of an idea for a story and write it in under a thousand words.

Way back when I was teaching, I had my Language Arts students write stories using the three-paragraph method, beginning, middle, and end, with two or three sentences in each paragraph.

Give this method a try. Don’t worry about grammar or spelling initially. The goal is to tell a story, start to finish, within a set word limit.

This story starter can be expanded and developed into a longer tale, with corrected grammar and spelling in later drafts. The three-paragraph method was a great confidence builder for my students.

I’m obsessing over details.

There’s a lot that goes into developing a story and writing a book. Pondering all that information can send writers over the edge, diving into the anxiety pool. You might come to a sharp stop. Stuck. Obsessing over details that don't matter early on in the process may tempt you to give up.

Advice to keep going may be tiresome, but you can't edit an empty page.

Practice story structure.

• Exposition. Introduces a protagonist's life, world, and wants, and has an inciting incident—the problem.
• Rising action. The protagonist is tested along the way as the problem worsens.
• Climax. The hero makes their choice and the climax is the action that follows that decision.
• Falling action. The hero must deal with the consequences of achieving their goal.
• Resolution. Plot, character arcs, and themes weave a conclusion.

Try plotting out these five moments, focusing on the problem.

Here’s a great story structure worksheet to help with the story structure process.

My writing is terrible.

The first draft, by definition, is terrible—for most writers. When you look around at all the books in a bookstore or library, know that none of them read as they do now in the first draft.

Great writers write well because they practice their craft. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice. It’s the same for all artforms and careers.

Find a writer’s critique group or support group.

I am a fan of critique groups and writer support groups and belong to both. Critique groups can be found though Meetup.com, within social media, and in your local community. Writer support groups can be composed of writers you know locally, or folks you met at a conference. The support group may function in part as critique as well as moral support for writing and day-to-day living. Great friendships may develop in both types of writer groups.

I can’t figure out how to end the story.

Some people believe that the ending of a story is the most important part. Goof up the ending, and your reader will feel cheated. The ending must be satisfying.

Look ahead.

Consider beginning the writing process with a good feel for the ending. As you write your story, the ending will evolve, but you’ll have a clear goal to reach those final scenes. Even if you write by the seat of your pants, it can’t hurt to know the start and end points of your story.

Return to the story’s start.

Use an element early in the story and return to it in the end. That element may be a family heirloom, or a special stone, something unique. Consider the screenplay, Citizen Kane. The film begins with the whisper of a dying man, “Rosebud.” We don’t know who or what Rosebud is until the movie’s end—very emotional. Tying your story’s ending to its beginning is one way to give your reader a satisfying ending.

Final Thoughts

A lot of writing anxiety stems from perfectionism—we truly want to create a perfect book.

There is no magic in perfection. Magic lives in your creative mind, and flows best when you least expect it.

Have you ever experienced writing anxiety? What did you do to overcome it?

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About Ellen

Author, speaker, and former teacher, Ellen L. Buikema has written non-fiction for parents, and The Adventures of Charlie Chameleon chapter book series with stories encouraging the development of empathy—sprinkling humor wherever possible. Her Works in Progress are The Hobo Code, YA historical fiction and The Crystal Key, MG Magical Realism/ Sci-Fi, a glaze of time travel.

Find her at https://ellenbuikema.com or on Amazon.

Top Image by Vilius Kukanauskas from Pixabay