Common Writer Problems And How To Fix Them 

No profession is without its fair share of problems and writing, whether a hobbyist or professional is full of its share as well. 

There are several common problems amongst writers such as imposter syndrome, writer's block, productive procrastination, shiny new ideas, and getting into a flow state.

If any of these problems affect you or you need to be aware of what they are so that they don't then read on for their descriptions and how to fix these problems if they arise. 

Imposter Syndrome 

Feeling as if no matter what you do you'll nerve be a real writer or that anything you have accomplished has been through luck alone. This can be accompanied by the feeling of being a fraud.

This problem afflicts all writers at one point or another in their writing career and while it is perfectly normal to experience, having this sort of mindset can feel devastating sometimes and can hinder your writing and creative process. Some who experience overwhelming feelings of imposter syndrome may put down their writing tools and never pick them up again for fear of not being good enough.

Imposter syndrome makes you feel self-doubt in yourself when it comes to your writing. When this type of feeling comes up try to stop it in its track.

Here are some way to stop the feelings that imposter syndrome bring you

• Stop being a perfectionist. Perfect doesn't exist and your readers aren't looking for it so neither should you.
• Celebrate every success. Even the little ones. Did you finish a chapter? CELEBRATE! Did you think of a new story idea? CELEBRATE! We are more than our failures so keep the successes fresh in your mind whenever you feel that the bad is outweighing the good.
• Text a writing buddy or family and friends. I have a group chat with a few writer friends and every once in a while someone will send the message, "I've got the writer icks. Help me before I delete my whole book." And the group will swoop down on them with praise, understanding, and a kick in the rear to get them into a better headspace.

Don't let imposter syndrome win!

Our brains are wonderful things that can think of fantastic things some people can't even dream of creating. Push through these bad feelings, or take a small break from writing and remember the feeling is only temporary and it will pass.

Writer's Block 

If you haven't experienced this before I hope you never have to, but writer's block is essentially being excited to write, making a cup of coffee, sitting down to write, and then staring at the blank page for five hours without putting a single word onto the page.

This says nothing about your ability to write, we all experience it at some point. Writer's block can be due to stress or just outside factors keeping the words from making it from our minds to our keyboards.

Some don't believe writer's block truly exists and I say that these are just people lucky enough to have nerve experienced it. 

• Read. Either pick up another book to read to help spark your writer's brain or go back into an earlier story that you've written to catch your own writer's voice again and try to apply it to your current work in progress.
• Jump to a new scene. If you're stuck somewhere take a leap down a few pages and try to write a different part of the story. 
• Can't get into the headspace of your current story? Try flexing your creative muscle with a short story or even just a paragraph inspired by writing prompts. 

Productive Procrastination 

You know you need to write, but you can't until the laundry is done, the dishes are cleaned and put away, the floor has been vacuumed, the kids have been fed, the bathroom floor has been bleached, and the dog has been taken for the fifth walk this hour just to give it a little more exercise.

You're being productive… but you're procrastinating.

Procrastination is more than just scrolling through social media or chatting at the water cooler to avoid going back to work. It's any activity that is keeping you from doing what you should be doing and hiding it behind productive activities doesn't change its face.

When you know you need to sit down and write, then you need to sit down to write. The only activity that you should be doing beforehand is putting out any active fires and saving the clean-up after a few thousand words or so have been written.

Say to yourself "I'm going to write." If that sentence starts to have the phrase "after I" in it… stop the thought there and stick with, "I'm going to write."

Then go write.

A Shiney New Idea 

Have you already started working on a story, but now you have this fantastic great idea that must be worked on now because it's so much better than what you were working on, and you can always finish it later so you need to work on this new one now.

Happens to the best of us and I am ashamed (and proud?) to say that at the present moment of writing this article I have six works in progress all in different states of completion. or decomposition as there are some I haven't dusted off in over a year. 

Having a new shiny idea is great, so long as you don't leave a graveyard of uncompleted stories behind you.

When you have a new idea spend a bit of time, a day or so, writing down all that you know about it, maybe even complete an outline if you must, but then file it away for another day. 

Don't abandon your current work for something new because there will be nothing to stop you from repeating this later on and never finishing any of them. 

Flow State 

A common problem with writers is achieving their flow state.

Flow state is when you are writing and immersed so deep in your story that the words and ideas are just flying out of you and into your story.

The easiest way to achieve this is by sitting down to write just for the sake of writing. It's easy to interrupt if you have other things on your mind such as other reasons for writing, " I'm going to write because I have bills to pay or I'm going to write because my editor is spamming my email while waiting for the next book." 

Write to write, but if you're having trouble concentrating and finding the perfect flow for writing try a few things to help get into a more focused mindset. 

• Block out anything that could be distracting. Phone, TV, other people. If your house is filled with people or you can only write on the go a pair of noise-canceling headphones can do wonders for blocking out unnecessary noise without completely blocking out the world around you. 
• Write at a time when there is nothing else you need to think about. You have a determined amount of free time where the only thing you need to be doing in that time is writing. 
• Set Goals that are attainable so that when you reach them you'll feel a sense of accomplishment that just might push you to see how much further you can go before your time is up. 

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If you've experienced any of these problems as a writer you're not alone, thousands of writers new and experienced face these problems at some point in their writing career. 

Just remember that these things can make or break a writer and it's important to have a solid community behind you for the moment you doubt yourself or you start questioning your ability to write.

Grow a community of writers so that you'll always have a group to turn to when you need it.

 Best of luck and remember to always keep your head up and mean every word you put down. You can always change them later.

Keep writing. 

With love, 

B.K. xo

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