5 Simple Ways to Stop Being Your Own Worst Enemy by Paula Zwenger

Ever felt paralyzed by the next step – judging it too far out on a limb? Or sat immobile, convinced no one else has ever faced what you’re facing? A part of you knows these thoughts are irrational. Still negativity holds sway.

Welcome to the world of neophyte writers. Desire burns to spill to paper a story trapped inside. Yet fire extinguishers proliferate like dandelions in springtime, converting your writing sparks to ashes. What to do? Here are tips I try when feeling stifled. Maybe one will work for you.

Write like no one will ever read it. This one I learned during Tosca Lee’s keynote address at the April WordSowers conference. It sounded counter-intuitive. Don’t we write so that someone will read our words? In trying it, I found a release to focus on truth, which lends authenticity to my writing.

Don’t edit as you write. Do set time aside once per week to edit. I’ve only recently begun this practice. Poems and blogs by nature are shorter pieces. They still need editing, but the time commitment is less than a chapter or story requires. This practice may save time and editing costs in the long run. Professional, final editing for longer works is still required.

Set weekly, monthly and annual goals. I first started setting weekly and monthly goals about a year ago. I created an editorial calendar for blogging on the advice of Lee Warren after the 2016 conference. I tried daily goals, but found it discouraging. They took longer to create and were often missed. I’m still warming up to the annual goal idea.

Try one new and different thing within the next three months. When I started writing I’d try new poetic forms as soon as I learned of them (i.e. sonnet, haiku, charita, ballad, villanelle, prose poetry, etc.). Now I focus on one at a time. A different, though related idea on my list is to attend and take part in a poetry reading. You might try writing a poem or reading something out of your favored genre to mix things up.

Celebrate small successes. This is easily neglected if you’re an all-or-nothing personality. If getting the book published is the goal and nothing less counts as success, the wait is long. There are many steps in that process. I recently learned how to schedule blog posts and a subscriber newsletter. My site is new and the subscriber list small, but it will grow and this was a necessary and good accomplishment.

Discouragement can often be a side effect of fear,

but if you take one simple step your path ahead will clear.

Continue with your mission and do not give way to foils.

Remember in the Kingdom to the victor go the spoils (1Chron. 26:27)!

What works for you when you are stuck? Share with your fellow WordSowers in the comments below.

Paula Zwenger is a wife, mother, and grandmother who, upon finding herself an empty nester, tried on the hat of rhyme loving writer. It fitted very well. Her joy manifests completely while taking the ups and downs of life and wrangling them into poetry. She has a passion for creating rhymed treasure hunts with a Catholic flare to celebrate the faith and learn a thing or two along the way. You can find her musings at RhymeLovingWriter  and connect with her on Facebook.

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Our guest today is Paula S. Zwenger. Paula  is a wife, mother, and grandmother who, upon finding herself an empty nester, tried on the hat of rhyme loving writer. It fitted very well. Her joy manifests completely while taking the ups and downs of life and wrangling them into poetry. She has a passion for creating rhymed treasure hunts with a Catholic flare to celebrate the faith and learn a thing or two along the way. You can find her musings at RhymeLovingWriter. You can also connect with her on Facebook.

From Paula…I sat in a quiet kitchen one week after our youngest son moved into his college dorm room thinking, “This is it. I’m finally going to do something I’ve talked about for years. I’m going to start writing.”

And I did. For nearly two hours that afternoon, interrupted by numerous side stops to check Facebook or email each time a notification bell dinged, three games of Sudoku plus the daily crossword puzzle online, and two trips to the refrigerator for tea, I wrote. No inkling at all remains of work produced that day, but I was on the path.

In the intervening two years I’ve moved in fits and starts from being a closet poet to a fairly consistent rhyming blogger. The way has been enhanced by on-line writing classes with Metropolitan Community College (MCC), two WordSowers conferences and several monthly meetings, countless hours of internet research, and being part of a writing community. The sheer amount of information available is staggering, but digestible in small bits. Even in these early stages I’ve learned valuable things.

Be not afraid. This is easier said than done some days. Fear of getting things wrong and looking foolish often slows me. But not trying guarantees I won’t succeed and every ‘failure’ holds a lesson.

Speak the words “I’m a writer.” Aloud. This took me a long time. I’d produced two to five pieces of poetry daily for months and created numerous rhymed treasure hunts for family and friends.  Yet when people asked what I did I’d stutter, “I’m thinking about writing.” I wasn’t thinking about anything. I was doing it! Because my work hadn’t been sold, or wasn’t in book format, it somehow didn’t count. The first time I actually said the words, I waited for the sky to fall or a gigantic finger to point out my mistake. Guess what? No one blinked or laughed and I’m still breathing. Tada!

Write something every day. This was easy at first because words burst from pen to paper. Eight months later things slowed down. Now once in awhile it feels like work (gasp!), and that’s OK.

There is no one perfect path. Do you write the book first? Start a website? Attend a conference? Join WordSowers?  Yes, yes, yes, and yes – in whatever order works for you.

At the most recent WordSowers conference in April, I learned many more great tips. I’m practicing them as I write this post. You can read more about what I learned here.

Finally, because I write in rhyme, I’d like to leave you this little ditty:

If you have tips to share with all, we beg you, don’t be shy.

There’ll never be a better time to tell another why

it’s worth the work and sweat and toil to write the words He sends.

When sown for love of Him who saves – the story never ends.

Do you remember the moment when you

finally called yourself a writer?