There are numerous reasons to be overwhelmed at writing. But, there are tips you can try so that this feeling does not become a permanent hindrance to writing.
Writing a book or an article entails a lot more than just typing words onto the computer. You need to put on several hats in order to succeed in a writing career. From a researcher to an agent, publisher to a marketer, these activities and responsibilities can quickly lead to overwhelm.
It is therefore important to learn some tips on how to be calm and keep writing despite the overpowering feeling of dread or worry.
Reasons why writing is overwhelming
Writing is an enjoyable activity. And to some, it is a great hobby to engage in because it provides a venue for creativity and self-expression.
For those who have chosen writing as their career, however, it can sometimes be overpowering. This is because publishing a book or posting an article involves a lot more activities aside from the actual writing.
Here are the reasons why writing becomes overwhelming:
Writing is personal
Writing most often than not is personal and as mentioned earlier a form of self-expression. A writer pours his heart and soul into the words that form the poem, article, or book that he has created. Because of this, a writer would feel naked, especially when the material is drawn from personal experience.
For beginner writers most especially, this feeling that you are about to share a part of yourself can become intimidating.
Self-doubt
Feeling overwhelmed will also come from self-doubt. Doubt in your ability as a writer. That your writing is not good enough to read, is nonsensical, or nothing of value.
This feeling may also stem from a lack of self-confidence or the fear of failure. So when these feelings creep in, it will lead to overwhelm.
Research
As mentioned earlier, writing is not just about the act of putting words onto paper or typing on the computer. It requires additional activities before and after the act of writing.
One requirement before actually pounding words on the keyboard is to do some research. Because you have to actually put some details and data on your work so that even if it is fiction, it is credible.
It is easy nowadays to gather information for our writing. But, it is the vast amount of materials that have to be organized and processed that causes overwhelm.
Drafting and editing
Once the research is done, comes the actual writing. Forming words to make your thoughts cohesive and flowing is not only daunting but taxing as well.
Whether you finish your draft and edit later or edit as you write, both processes can be overwhelming. For the former, just the thought of editing an entire book, chapter, or article is already overwhelming.
For the latter, you may write a page or two, then edit them, and at the end, you’re still unsure if they’re worth including. It’s like a dance step where you take one step forward and two steps back.
This would make you feel like you are not making progress not to mention that writing and editing are so tiring.
Promoting
Finalizing your written work does not end in the posting of the article or publishing of the book. If you want to make a career and live on your writing, you need to promote your work.
In this internet age, authors need to be more than just writers. They also need to become a marketer, publicist, and sometimes publisher to gain recognition and have their books sold and distributed.
The same is true for other writers. Promoting your written work, for bloggers or freelancers is required to get noticed and get the much-needed traffic. As every marketer knows, you need to put yourself out there.
And for most people, this simple act of getting yourself noticed feels so unnatural and unsettling.
How to Avoid Being Overwhelmed
All these points are valid reasons to be overwhelmed at writing. However, they should not become permanent obstacles for writers not to pick up a pen or tap on the computer.
So how do you get from overwhelm to the writing flow? Below are some tips you might want to try:
Just write
To overcome the overwhelming feeling of your writing as not good enough, just write and ignore “them.” Whoever they may be. Write what you are passionate about, edit, and post or publish.
Do not bother yourself thinking of what other people will say about your writing.
This is especially useful for beginners. Most writers, even the veterans, would agree that your initial work may not be inspiring. At worst, they may be an example of bad writing.
But the thing is, you need to start somewhere. Keep writing and then improve from there.
Consistency
Consistency in writing will also help ease overwhelm. You can make your writing consistent by creating a workable schedule for your writing.
You can either write on a fixed schedule each day or make sure to write at least an article or a chapter a week.
By being consistent in your writing, you allow yourself to learn and improve. Additional knowledge and improvement in your writing skills will lead to self-confidence to face other related responsibilities.
Break it down
Yes, the whole writing process is truly overwhelming. But all you need to do is to trust that once you put yourself in the process, it will work. One single step after another.
Break each writing activity into smaller chunks so that they are easier to do. Following that, schedule these smaller tasks on your agenda or calendar to ensure that they get done.
By knowing the tasks that need to get done and when will help you overcome overwhelm.
Stay focused
Similar to the need to break tasks into bite-sized pieces, it will also help to stay focused.
By focusing your attention on one task at a time, you avoid jumping from one task to another which leads to getting overwhelmed.
So, if for example, you are writing a book, focus first on the research of your characters before thinking of promotional ideas. Or for beginners at blogging, focus first on content creation before worrying about how to get more traffic on their website.
Create a system
Having your own writing system will help to keep overwhelm at bay. This system will serve as the foundation of your writing process, ensuring that nothing is overlooked along the way.
There is no hard and fast rule for a writing system, you create what is suitable for your schedule and your lifestyle.
An example would be:
- Sunday night- schedule articles or chapters for writing
- Monday- research
- Tuesday- write
- Wednesday- write
- Thursday- edit
- Friday- publish
- Saturday- read
The above is a simplistic example but you get the message. A good writing system should allow for consistency and improvement in your writing. It should allow you to produce coherent writing from the materials you have read. And should also enable you to come up with or remember ideas that can be used in the future.
Here’s hoping these tips alleviated your feeling overwhelmed. Keep in mind that as with any obstacles, there are ways to go through them or around them. Remember to write consistently, focus on one small task at a time, and create a system of writing on what you know and are passionate about.
Do you have other ideas on how to overcome feeling overwhelmed? Please share them in the comments below.
Outside links:
Writing Overwhelm? How to Write Your Way Out of “The Messy Middle”
5 Writer Goals to Help You Avoid Overwhelm
