Writer’s block is a challenge all writers will face throughout their journey. Writing, whether graded or for personal pleasure, can be a daunting task. Putting pen to paper, or in my case finger to keyboard, might be the most challenging part. That goes for pretty much anything.
I am constantly inspired and always have ideas racing through my brain. I jot down all my thoughts. God forbid someone gets a hold of my notes app. However, most of my ideas go untouched for weeks, months, even years. Honestly, many may never see the light of day. I love to write and make up stories, but writing is overwhelming. The fear of rejection plagues my ability to get started.
Learning to Accept Failure
Many of us, not just writers, are afraid of failure. The fear of failure controls our every move. However, failure is just part of the process. Failure and mistake are synonymous. So why is it okay to make mistakes but shameful to fail? What’s important is that we learn from our failures. Just because you fail does not mean that your work is worthless. As a writer, if your work is perfect the first time, that means you’re doing something wrong.
Writers fear of failure may stem from their K-12 education. Growing up, all of our writing assignments had deadlines. This meant by the due date your writing better be damn near perfect. However, this is not feasible. The first draft is never polished. Why do you think editors exist? Writers write a draft and send it off to an editor to be critiqued. This process goes on several times before the final product is complete. Yet, we expect children to write a complete paper within a week with no editor.
It is time to let go of the fear of failure. Failure is inevitable. Frankly, failure should be embraced. The ability to learn from your failures is much more impressive than being able to write a decent paper in one sitting. This is the part where I tell some cheesy inspirational story about how a now world famous author was rejected by countless publishers when they were up and coming but I think you get the gist.
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