I began to write a nonfiction book last November with enthusiasm. I knew what I wanted to write and exactly who I was writing for.
It’s so niche, my book, I could tell you the names of the people who will glance at the cover.
And then, over the winter, I lost my writing confidence.
Failing to see through a good project feels bad.
Guilt mixed with irritation does not make for creativity.
Last week was decision time: was I going to go on with it, or not?
Opening the document, I skipped the first ten pages. I’d rewritten them so many times, I’d got sick of them.
No surprise in this Tip: endless rewriting is really bad practice.
I took a look through the rest of the draft. Hope stirred in the corner of Pandora’s Box. It didn’t actually look too bad.
So what was blocking me? Mostly:
😲 Discouragement: those multiple mis-starts on the first ten pages
😲 Overwhelm, faced with 30,000 words that need putting in the right order before the book could grow
😲 A lack of a sense of urgency.
I began writing on the same day I worked this out, and so far, I’ve made progress.
My blockers won’t be your blockers. All our projects have different impacts on us at different times. But it struck me what will keep me going now are universal truths:
Knowing I have worked out what I am writing, for whom and why.
Knowing this book needs to show up in a tiny part of the professional world I live in. There is a group of people I can identify who need to read it.
Knowing the longer I keep this book at bay, the more depressing the project will feel. That’s the urgency. I don’t want it dragging me down.
Reminding myself of these truths is what I needed to revive my writing confidence. I hope they’ll help you, too.