The Biggest Challenge

     Flat out, the biggest challenge you will face as a writer, is yourself. You are going to be your own worst critic, you alone will nourish the doubt that you can write that book, you alone will constantly question yourself on the process and you alone will convince yourself you’re not doing it right.

     Welcome to writing, we all go through this when we first start down the path. It seems so simple at first, so easy. We get an idea for a book and we think it’s a great idea so we’re just going to write it. We get all pumped to get it out there but then we grab a pen and paper or open the word processing software then… we stare at a blank page… sometimes for hours.

     Now we face the great challenge; the panic inspiring, ‘what do I do now?’ gremlin. Getting writers’ block is one thing but getting it before ever putting a single word down is terrifying. The trick is to not be intimidated by the blank page. Just write something pertaining to the story that inspired you to write in the first place. Write down where it takes place, who the main character is, who the protagonist is and how this person is going to wreak havoc on you hero’s world. Write down how you think the story is going to end if it comes to mind, then you have a goal to start working towards. Trust me, once you start writing down anything, ideas just start coming to you. Remember, this is the first draft, just get it out and edit later.

     If you want to write bad enough, you will write. If you believe you have something to fear from writing, you will miss the opportunity to share a great story. Many beginning writers feel they can’t write because they are afraid their work won’t be good enough, no one will read it, or worse, someone will read it and not like it. Spoiler alert… all of that is going to happen anyway. It happens to all of us. Your first bits of writing are rarely good enough.  Mine sure weren’t. Likely every writer ever wasn’t good enough when they first started either unless they were a writing prodigy. Or… they stuck with it, already understanding how editing and rewriting until it was good enough was the essential part of putting out quality work. That’s the process. I wasn’t very good at driving when I first started – or cooking or raising children. But I did it anyway and learned on the go. This is writing. Once you discover there is nothing to fear because everyone has to start at some point, there is nothing to hold you back.

     Here is a short list of the greatest challenges you will face on your journey.

Fear of Failure

     This is a big one. I’m sure everyone fears failing at something at some point. We need to come to terms that failure is actually a good thing, not a bad one. Failing teaches us stuff, like how to get back up and try harder. How to be stronger, how to cope with more crap. Through failure we learn how to make adjustments to the process and go at it again and again, and again until we get it right. Failure is therefore not a thing to be feared but to be revered as a teacher, a guide to make ourselves better. We shouldn’t fear failing, we should fear having never tried at all. We learn what we can accomplish and strengthen ourselves, even if it takes a few extra attempts.

Fear of Rejection

     “What if I write my book and no one wants to publish it?” Yes, this sounds like failure. You will get a lot of rejections along the way. In Steven King’s book On Writing, he said he stuck all his rejection letters on a nail in the wall. When it got full, he got a bigger nail. Rejection is also part of the process. Perhaps your work is getting rejected because you haven’t found the perfect fit for a publisher. Many publishers overlook the potential of a story where another will recognize its value. Keep trying. To believe any of us will slam out a novel and think it will get picked up by the first, or first ten publishers we submit to might be an overzealous viewpoint. I’m not saying it’s not possible, just not probable. Also possible, if after fifty or sixty rejections, maybe the story needs to be tweaked to fit into a market or an independent publishing route might need to be taken to prove to yourself your book is ready for the mainstream. Maybe the story is great but your synopsis or pitch is a little off. Don’t be afraid to tweak things if something isn’t working. Keep in mind, publishers are a business. They want to know a book is going to make money and they are more focused on that than who you are as a writer.

Fear of Inadequacy

     To think that your first project may not be good enough is the most intelligent approach you can take as a beginning author. It’s realistic. You shouldn’t think your first book is the best ever piece of writing just because you wrote it. Your family may tell you it’s great because, well, they’re your family and they think the world of you. But they rarely give you an honest answer to spare your feelings. We need to be told that if we wrote a piece of crap, somebody (preferably someone knowledgeable in story craft) needs to say it’s a piece of crap so we don’t send it into the world believing it’s good. Submit some pieces of your novel into some writing forums and you will find out if it’s any good very quickly. Strangers are either very arrogant or very honest but many are deeply supportive. Submission boards are the best places to get honest opinions. Don’t think of your work as being inadequate, you are on a path to learn to be a better writer, one that I don’t believe ever ends. I don’t know everything there is to know about writing and I’m always learning more and I’m very willing to share it. But you must keep writing to get better at it. Give yourself credit for sticking with it and the rewards will come. Believe you can.

Fear of Criticism

     Just like rejection, all writers have to deal with this one too. Because it’s part of the process. Heck, you are probably already accustomed to this one because who doesn’t go through a day without a little criticism on some level? In an author’s world it might sting a wee bit more because it’s focusing on something far more personal to us. You can make fun of my hair, my clothes or the fact my workspace is split between Star Wars and Harry Potter. I can take that, pretty much expect criticism on it for a guy in his mid-fifties, but my writing? I put a lot of time in that. Sometimes years. To tear it apart hurts, I get it, I’ve been there. I’ve also come to view it objectively. How much does this person know about writing? Do they even read much? How much is just personal opinion because maybe what I wrote isn’t their genre? If the person throwing the critique at me is credible, then I can view it as a reliable source to improve the work. For me, editing goes a little faster because I’m particular about the first draft, I do much of the editing as I go because I read it a lot in case there’s something I can add in an other chapters to make other parts work better. That’s part of my process. However, we can’t simply dismiss other criticisms because some of them may be valid enough to warrant some reworking. Criticism is critical, it exists to make the story the best it can be.

Fear of Success

     This one is real, believe it or not. Sometimes, someone will think, “What if my book makes it big? What do I do then?” Can you imagine what went through J. K. Rowling’s mind when she made more money than the Queen at one point? It’s a lot of pressure I’m sure because the media will believe everything you do after that will be just as good. There’s a lot of pressure having to live up to an ideal placed upon us. Honestly, chances of that happening are one in a million but who’s to say you aren’t that millionth? All it takes is that one good story everybody loves and you will never know if it will happen to you if you don’t write! If it equals Harry Potter success? Deal with it when it happens, you’ll be able to afford it then. When it comes down to it, it might not be the fear of success that bothers you, it might be the fear of change or the unknown. Success is a really big change for some of us and it’s really hard to predict what will happen after that. In the end, we should accept that the greatest reward is that we finished the book and that’s not something to take lightly. If the only shelf it ever sits on is your own – or your mom’s – then you can still declare, ‘I did it!’.

     So what do we do to overcome these personal conflicts? The same thing we expect our protagonists do, we face the challenge, we meet them head on and power through. Come to understand that the process of becoming a better writer is a constant process of improvement. Rejection, criticism and failing are the best teachers for this process because we are given the opportunity to rewrite, rework and retry to get it right. After that first success, the rest is easier because the trial and error is behind you. That’s not to say your next book will be an instant success, it’s a different story with its own tribulations to endure. But at least you have more to go on going in. The odds are better though because you should have a following and if you put the time in to make it worthwhile for them, well, the next part writes itself, doesn’t it?