7 Essential Tips for Overcoming Writing Anxiety
As a writer, there will be times where you will experience anxiety. You may be struggling to finish a writing project, and you have a deadline as well. There may also be some personal issues in your life that you will have to overcome. Whatever the source of the stress may be, it could still affect your writing career in the long run.
If you have writing anxiety, you may feel uneasy or even fearful about writing. This may even get so severe that you’ll eventually get writer’s block. This is a common experience for a majority of writers.
However, if you want to be the best writer you can be, it is important that you know how to overcome your anxiety. In order to do so, you will need a great strategy. Here are seven essential tips for overcoming your writing anxiety.
1. Find the source of your anxiety
If you want to overcome your writing anxiety, it is very important that you know what troubles you. How can you overcome your anxiety if you don’t even know what’s causing it? Before you start writing again, you should take time and just think about what could cause your anxiety. It could be a new writing schedule or a change in your daily routine. It could be a feeling or insecurity or a personal issue. Whatever the source of your anxiety may be, it is important that you find out and address it. This will allow you to take the necessary steps on how to overcome it.
2. Get more exercise
Sometimes anxiety can be caused by a lack of exercise. The human body was designed to move, and exert effort. If you are feeling anxious and unsure during the writing process, maybe you just need to go to the gym and work out a bit. A good work out really gets your heart rate moving and increases the dopamine, or happiness hormone in your body. This may help you overcome your anxiety in the long run. Your exercises don’t need to be too intense. They just need to be fun and allow you to move, sweat and stretch your muscles for a specific amount of time.
3. Learn to accept help
Another key aspect of overcoming anxiety, is your ability to accept help. There will be times when you feel as if you are alone in your writing journey. This is a common thing for most writers because writing is a solitary activity. Take the time to reach out to other writers. They will know the feeling of anxiety as well, and could offer their moral support. They could also offer you much needed advice on how to overcome your writing anxiety.
4. Set short term goals for yourself
If you are worried about reaching a specific long term goal, maybe it’s time to start with short term goals for yourself. If you work on long term goals, this may cause you to stress at the enormity of your tasks. For example, you are writing a novel. If you look at writing a novel as a project, you will feel overwhelmed. The best way to look at the writing process, is to compartmentalize your work into chapters, and just take it one step at a time. With this method you’ll be able to tackle the writing process with a healthier mindset.
5. Set a schedule for yourself
Aside from setting short term goals and tasks for yourself, it is also important that you have set a schedule for yourself as well. Sometimes writing anxiety could be caused by a lack of routine in your writing sessions. If you don’t have a set schedule, you may find yourself struggling to meet deadlines, and just procrastinate in the long run. When you choose your schedule, it is important that you choose a good time and stick to it. It does not matter what time you choose. What’s important is that you could write during this schedule at a regular basis.
6. Read new content
Sometimes a key cause for writing anxiety, is that you simply don’t know what to write about. This is especially true for writers who are solely focused on their work. During these times, it is a good idea to just read new content on a regular basis. Who knows? You may get inspired to write again.
If you can’t seem to get started on the writing process because of your writing anxiety, it is a good idea to start a journal. A key reason why some people have writing anxiety, is because they are afraid that their work will get scrutinized. By starting on a journal, you will be able to write about your day on a regular basis. Because it is a journal, your work will not get scrutinized and you’ll be able to enjoy the writing process in its purest form possible. The constant writing will also allow you to get a good deal of writing practice in the long run.
Conclusion
When it comes to being a good writer, it is important that you know how to handle writing anxiety. Having anxiety is a common thing that many writers face, and you need a strategy on how overcome it. With these tips, you’ll be able to overcome your anxiety in the best way possible.
