10 things that scare writers

October 12, 2022

Hey, you. Come a little bit closer. I’ll let you in on a secret. Here are 10 things that scare the pants off writers.

10 things that scare writers

1. An empty notebook

I don’t know about you, but the clear, crisp pages of a perfectly empty notebook leave me in a cold sweat. I mean, don’t get me wrong. It’s a thing of beauty. But who wants to be the a*rs* to leave inky smudges all over it. Because let’s face it, that will happen.

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2. A blank page

Slightly worse than the empty notebook because this means you are sitting down to ‘write with intent’. Somehow a blank page feels much more echoey than a 500 page empty notebook. #NoIdeaHow

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3. A blank head

*Enough said.

4. A runaway story idea

As a new writer, no one will tell you how scary a runaway story idea can be. No one! Because… it starts off like you’ve hit gold. A fresh, fabulous story idea starts off with as much ease as honey dripping off your toast. And, you start to wonder if the term #WritersBlock actually exists right?!

Then, it picks up speed.

You question, am I writing this or is it writing me????

Before you know it, your story idea has bolted like a horse high on sugar cubes *or something else. You desperately hang on, with both hands as it takes you to wild places you never knew you had in you.

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You read it back.

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5. Too many new story ideas

As above, you are on a rampant rampage of crazy. And then it dawns on you, as you look at your 1,000 new story ideas. Where do you start??

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6. No story ideas

*bum

7. Writing the first word of the new story

Now this is my own personal nemesis. Why is writing the first word of a story so SCARY! I mean, give me the latest Netflix horror to watch and I’ll take that over pen touch-down. In fact, I’ve been known to write, edit and re edit an entire picture book in my head, before thy pen has made contact with any piece of paper.

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8. No publishing deal

#TheRejectionPainIsRealPeople

9. A publishing deal

You spend most of your life desperately chasing that illusive thing that other people call ‘a publishing deal’. If (*when) the stars align… because sometimes they do beware of the ‘rabbit caught in headlights’ fright night panic that may blast you in the face, as soon as you see the words ‘YES!’

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10. #NotGoodEnough

Perhaps the scariest thing of all is that fun sucker, joy stealing, sinking feeling of not being good enough.

But.

I think I’ve cracked this one a little bit.

When that feeling blindsides you (*pokes you in the eye), remember, it’s not personal. You are good enough. Just, maybe your story isn’t quite there yet. Not quite tripping along the story path in the best possible direction. Or maybe it is, but it’s not quite the right fit at this specific moment in time. #KeepGoing

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What scares you?

This tongue-in-cheek post is part of #Blogtober22 – what scares you.

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