The biggest obstacle for me to start writing is myself. My brain tells me not to do it, or if I have an idea I will immediatly think of several reasons why it is no good. I'm not sure exactly where this negative conditioning came from, but when I recognise it I can ignore it.
The other day is a case in point, I was trying to write a specific scene and I had several options for how to write it. I was thinking them through and I found myself saying "no, those ideas are all lame, think of something better" which at first appears to be a positive creative process (pushing myself to improvement) but is actually a barrier, because if I have no faith in what I plan to write I won't write it.
So what I did was recognise what I was doing, decide to stop putting up barriers for no reason, then I sat down and wrote out one option for the scene, on the premise that if it really was lame I could always rewrite it. It was a bit of a hard slog to write but I got it out and when I read it I was relatively happy with it.
Here ends my point: the main thing stopping myself (and possibly everyone else?) from writing, or doing whatever, is themselves. My mind is filled with doubts, but I can learn to ignore them and get the job done all the same.
Posted by jenni at January 13, 2007 09:09 AMYup, that's a good way to look at it :-). It applies to so many things - it's particularly harsh when you (in the general sense) let it stop you from getting the practice that you actually *need* to be anything other than lame :).
I don't know if it's conditioning, but if you never start, then you never have to fail. Whereas if you do something and it's not as good as you want it to be, you actually have to acknowledge that... which can be a little painful.
Posted by: Rachel at January 14, 2007 07:18 AMI have that epiphany all the time, I just have to figure out how to do something about it :/
A very good book is, So you want to write by Brenda Ueland. It was written in the 1930s and the advice in it is timeless. It taught me that there is only one reason to write; because you love it. Then you won't be able to stop yourself.
Posted by: suraya at January 14, 2007 08:32 AM"The only writing advice you'll ever need is 'Put ass to chair in front of typewriter.'"
- Joe R. Lansdale