If you were to meet a writer on the street, you could be forgiven for expecting a disorganized person who is generally unable to function at the level normally expected of an adult human being.
Harsh, I know. But when it comes to writing, many amateur writers seem incapable of the most basic tasks (and I count myself in this group). Forget actually writing a decent novel. Some of us can’t put pen to paper, let alone finish our work. And if a writer can’t even commence work on her tour de force, how can she expect to finish it?
Curiously, these same people are functioning members of society provided there’s no writing involved. They manage to wash themselves, get dressed in the morning, raise children, and even — shock horror! — hold down jobs with deadlines and KPIs.
So why is it that when it comes to doing what they love best, many writers turn into pale, underachieving reflections of themselves?
I asked some amateur writers what gets between them and their work, and this is what they said.
1. Not enough time
Not having enough hours in the day is a commonly reported reason for failing to meet writing goals.
This isn’t surprising given most amateur writers barely earn enough from their work to cover the cost of printing and posting their manuscripts. When you’re working a day job or raising a family, it’s hard to find the spare time just to scratch yourself.
And let’s face it, modern life with all its distractions and pressures is hardly conducive to writing. Sitting in front of a computer at night isn’t the most enticing proposition after a long day in the office, and good writing requires the kind of deep concentration most of us can only muster in decent chunks of quiet time. If only we could all wile away our summer afternoons putting quill to parchment like Shakespeare did.
For many writers, not having enough time is a real problem, but I also suspect most of us have used it as a cop out at some stage. I’d be a rich man if I had a penny for every time I’ve heard someone complain they’re too busy, only to see them on the sofa watching TV an hour later. If you want something badly enough, you’ll find time for it, even if something else has to be sacrificed.
Unfortunately for many of us, that thing is sleep.
2. Lacking motivation
The path to publication can be long and difficult. Even if you manage to polish your work into something worthy of publication, there’s no guarantee it will ever see the light of day. Publishers aren’t likely to be interested in something they don’t see as a commercial proposition, and it’s no secret in the industry that sometimes even the best book will go unpublished. And even if a publishing house is willing to take it, the royalties are unlikely to stretch much further than beer money for many writers.
What this means is that not only is writing a difficult process suited only to those with a lot of patience, it is also an industry offering very little in the way of financial reward to the majority of writers. No surprise, then, that many writers struggle to find the motivation to keep writing. Producing a novel takes hundreds, if not thousands, of hours, and every minute can be hard to bear when the voice in your head keeps insisting there’s no point, it will never get published and you’ll have wasted all this effort for nothing.
Of course there are other rewards, such as the joy of writing for its own sake, and giving pleasure to your readers.
That’s enough for some people, and they’re the ones less likely to suffer from this particular problem.
3. Writer’s block
Writer’s block can take many forms. Sometimes the words just don’t flow. On other days, every word you put on the page seems like the most trite, tedious drivel you’ve ever read. Or perhaps there’s a plot problem stalling the work that you can’t resolve. At other times, there’s no inspiration, no magic to keep you going and interested in your own work.
Most amateur writers I’ve spoken to report suffering from writer’s block regularly, but fortunately it doesn’t last long. Experienced writers develop coping techniques that can help them break through, such as listening to music, reviewing previously written work, taking time out, or approaching the problem from a different angle. Others find that it passes without any conscious effort.
For some unlucky few, writer’s block can develop into a more serious problem. I’ve heard of writers who haven’t produced more than a paragraph of decent prose for six months or more, despite their best efforts. They choke on every sentence, or analyze their work endlessly, finding so many flaws they have to start again.
For them, the block might be a symptom of something more insidious: self doubt.
4. Self doubt
This is sometimes the hidden cause why writers fail to meet their goals, and often they don’t even know it. Lacking motivation in your writing? Perhaps you secretly don’t believe your work is good enough to ever get published. It’s no fun pouring hundreds of hours into a manuscript that you think will spend the rest of its life gathering dust in the bottom draw. Or perhaps you can’t seem to write anything good lately? Chances are you’re too critical of your own work.
In some ways this could be called the malaise of the journeyman writer. Often when a person first starts writing, they are full of confidence in their own newfound abilities. How could anyone not find their work amazing? Anyone who dares criticize just doesn’t appreciate how good they are or what they are trying to achieve.
Conversely, the master author has achieved enough success that their writing abilities can’t be doubted, at least not rationally. No matter how low their self esteem, they can’t deny that at least others seem to find their work worth reading.
The journeyman writer is arguably in a more difficult position. As the writer matures, he starts to see the flaws in his own style. He knows that he is getting better at his craft, but he hasn’t achieved enough success to be sure that other people like his work. He doesn’t have the brash arrogance of the beginner, but neither does he have the hard won confidence of the master. Doubt starts to creep in, and the only things he can see in his work are mistakes.
Emotions are not always rational, however, and even experienced authors who have “made it” wonder whether their work is good enough. I’ve heard of successful writers who, when they review a day’s writing, feel it is the worst thing they’ve ever read. They detest it with the kind of passion only a creator can feel about his own work.
Somehow they manage to detach themselves from this, however, to stop it from controlling them. At the end of the day, the audience is the one to determine the quality of the work. The writer’s opinion is irrelevant.
5. Procrastination
This is my favorite. For over six months now, I’ve been sitting on the completed first draft of the sequel to my novel, HIVE. It doesn’t need any rewriting, only polishing up and fleshing out.
At first I was proactive, committing several hours a day to the task. Unfortunately life has an annoying tendency of throwing things at you when you least expect it. My writing stalled. I made excuses that life was too hectic; I just needed things to settle down.
At the time my excuses were reasonable, but inaction can take on a momentum of its own. Several months passed, and life returned to normal. I realized I couldn’t rely on the same excuses anymore…so I invented new ones. I told myself I just needed a solid block of time without interruptions to get back into the swing of things.
Yeah, right. Opportunities arose, and I filled them with other commitments.
Next I told myself I didn’t have enough spare time. If I found that excuse crumbling (say because I had a couple of hours to kill), another excuse would take its place. I couldn’t concentrate. I was tired. I had a headache (seriously, do husbands still fall for that one these days?) The weeks dragged on.
Fast forward six months, and I’ve now come out of the closet and admitted I’m procrastinating. I realize the only way to address this is to throw myself back into writing. In fact, I made a New Year resolution to do just that. I haven’t started yet, but I plan to do something about it tomorrow. Or maybe the next day. Provided I haven’t got a headache.
So, I’m procrastinating about tackling my procrastination. Sound familiar? Then you have the dubious pleasure of sharing the number one reason why writers don’t write.
The good news is that there are ways to manage all of these problems, whatever your writing goals.
Please leave a comment to share what gets between you and writing, and the techniques you have learned to cope.
