“I’m too young,” “I’m too old,” “I have nothing to say,” “I won’t be listened to” – there are many voices in our heads every day that keep us from doing something important and cool.
Want to silence those voices and overcome your fears if you dream of writing your book? Then take advantage of these simple tips. They’ll help you with anything from writing a guide on how to use TonyBet Kenya bonuses to crafting a book on motherhood or a fairytale.
Fear #1. Everything Is Already Written
If you know how to write well, it doesn’t matter that there are already books on your subject. Everyone’s book is like a Rorschach test, where everyone sees their own. It doesn’t matter what you say. What matters is how you say it.
The famous journalist Christopher Booker has identified 7 classic plots that all fiction stories are written on: beat the monster, from dirt to princely, quest, journey there and back, comedy, tragedy and rebirth. That’s pretty much it! So, of course, such a straight categorical something new you will not say. But if you feel that you have your own perspective on some problem or unique experience, then you should write about it.
Fear #2. I Will Be Criticized
Fear of criticism is one of the stupidest fears, because on one side of the scale is your book and what you have to say, and on the other side of the scale is the opinion of a certain person.
If you have a fear of criticism, what can you do? When we say, “No one likes me,” we often mean that a certain person doesn’t like me. So if you say, “I’m afraid of being criticized,” think about who exactly you’re afraid of. As a rule, behind it there are one or two or three people whose opinion is important to you: your former boss, mother, father, or brother. If you can talk to these people, go to them and tell them:
“Listen, Dad, I want to write a book about this, but I’m afraid you’re going to suddenly say something so unpleasant to me. Let’s talk about it.”
Fear #3. I’m Afraid of Looking Insecure in my Writing
First, ask the question, “Why are you afraid of looking insecure?” If you don’t have enough information, you can cite research on your topic, evidence, and data. And if you have good language skills, you’ll have a great book.
If your insecurity is because you have a provocative book or you have something to tell that doesn’t align with the majority opinion, you can simply ask yourself three questions here that will set you free:
- “Who is telling me how I should live my life?” No one knows what’s right, no one will come along and check. And actually, no one knows how we should live our lives.
- “Do I sincerely believe it?” If something from the inside is tearing out, we want to talk about it, and you sincerely believe it, then act on it.
- “Does what I wrote relate to my values?” If it correlates with your deepest values, then write, don’t be afraid. Publish your book.
Fear #4. Age
There are two such polar positions: “I’m too young” or “I’m too old.”
Of course, age can affect something, but you can write an expert book at any age. If we take fiction, for example, Françoise Sagan wrote her book Hello, Sadness at 19. Fitzgerald wrote “The Great Gatsby” at age 29. Ken Kesey wrote “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” at 27.
But there are other examples. For example, Laura Wilder wrote her novel “Little House on the Prairie” when she was 65. It was her debut novel. So age has nothing to do with it.
Fear #5. Success
Surprisingly enough, this paradoxical fear is quite widespread. How can you be afraid of something good that you dream about and live for? But the explanation is simple: success means a dramatic change in life. And this is what our brain is afraid of, because it is in its nature to seek stability and peace. Besides, some people with an introverted disposition are simply afraid of fame and the public way of life.
Try it. Chances are, you’ll like it. In fact, the constant change in our lives is guaranteed – so let this be a book on the top of the bestsellers. And if you don’t want to be in the public eye all the time, that’s up to you. You can write under a pseudonym and not go to presentations.
Fear #6. A Lot of Work
Even writing some unpretentious detective story requires digging through a lot of information to make the work believable. If you take on a difficult topic, such as a historical or science fiction novel, or writing non-fiction, a huge part of the work will be finding the right information, reading, and consulting with experts. Many people are afraid of getting bogged down in this maze, never achieving their intended goal.
In fact, the more you learn about the right topics, the easier it will be for you to understand the structure of your future book and write it. Fortunately, the twenty-first century has made this task a lot easier. Access to any data is now much simpler – thanks to the Internet, you will spend much less time searching. Besides, gathering information for your book gives you a truly unique opportunity to communicate with the best experts in your field – don’t let your fears pass you by.
