There is a certain amount of truth in the statement “Nobody wants to read my writing.” People aren’t interested in your rhetoric, no matter how eloquent it is, unless it resonates with them somehow. People read what’s interesting to them. They read what will benefit them. In other words, if your writing doesn’t appeal to your audience or provide them with value, don’t expect anyone to line up for a chance to get a copy.
But that’s not the thing keeping most writers back. The ones who say (or feel deep inside) that nobody wants to read their writing are battling with something else.
Behind the words “Nobody wants to read my writing anyway” is a long list of fears that writers often don’t want to face. Writing is a communication activity that’s so closely entwined with who we are as individuals that any comment on our writing feels like a knife twisting in our heart. Yet these are fears that writers can learn to overcome to get started, to continue, and to get published.
Even though social media has made it possible for daggers to be thrown anonymously from behind computers located anywhere in the world, this is only a small portion of the fear lurking in the minds of many writers. While the fear of rejection and failure is real, it is fueled by the fear of not being good enough, which is far stronger than most of us would care to admit.
Many people undervalue their abilities and strengths. If you look around, the average person seems to be like this and it’s like the default way of living. We put ourselves down and make an event of laughing at what we consider flaws and failures.
All a person has to do is a quick search online for “fails” in order to be bombarded by video after video highlighting all different kinds of mishaps. We look at these and laugh because they’re entertainment, all the while nursing our own fears, secretly cringing inside as hopes and dreams fade.
For those of us who hide behind this lie, if we’re honest with the cause of our procrastination and hesitation, we’d realize that insecurity is by far the most dangerous challenge we face as writers. Insecurity feeds our fears, closes our minds to inspiration, cages our free spirit, and creates a chasm between us and our goals.
And when this happens, writers feel like they’re the only ones going through it. Obviously, anyone who has ever published has never felt this way, right?
I’m sure as you’re reading that, intellectually you’re thinking that isn’t true but in your chest is still tightening in defiance.
An awesome quote I stumbled upon said, “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” (Carrie Fischer)
There’s even a book titled Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway (Susan Jeffers, PhD).
You’re not the only one who has these feelings, and the good news is that there’s something you can do to move beyond the fear to what you want to accomplish.
What can you do?
Here’s one thing you can do right now, at this moment. Schedule some writing time.
If you haven’t gotten started on that blog or novel or nonfiction book, schedule the time. If you’ve started but somehow can’t seem to complete it, schedule the time.
Many times writers think that they can only write at certain times when the conditions are right (another lie we’ll be discussing) but the truth is that we have it in our power to make the conditions as right as possible. And that means scheduling the time to ensure it gets done.
If it’s not on a schedule then it’s likely to keep getting shoved aside. One of the best ways to do this is to find a writing buddy. There’s nothing like someone else waiting for you to get you going. Just being in the presence of others who are working on their own writing is encouraging. If you don’t know anyone who would step into that role for you, why not sign up for a co-writing session?
At WERD Coach Creative, we offer co-writing sessions twice a week – Mondays 6 pm to 8 pm AST, and Thursdays 9 am to 11 am AST. The sessions are totally free. All you have to do is to click the link below to register, then turn up at the appointed time.
WEEKLY CO-WRITING SESSIONS
Let me say it once and for all, there are people out there who are not only willing to read what you’re writing, they’re actually waiting for it. So get started.
As always, happy writing.
