Overcome Fear of Writing with Two Techniques
Scared of writing? Does your forehead bead up with sweat at the mere thought of writing that term paper, that essay, or that novel? Mine too. That’s when I break out my trusty copy of Bird by Bird and re-read Anne Lamott’s advice about using two easy techniques that can overcome this fear. The first technique is to set for yourself short assignments.
Short Assignments
Have a term paper on say, World War II? Instead of tackling the whole history of World War II - this would make anyone’s forehead bead up with sweat (not to mention take years to write) - tell yourself that all you have to do for now is this one short assignment. What is your short assignment? Pick a small area of focus and write about that. Anne Lamott picks up the one-inch picture frame on her desk, stares at it and reminds herself that all she has to do for now is describe what she can see through that small window. What do you see through your little picture frame? Maybe today, you will just write a one-page outline about the economic conditions in Germany in the 1930’s. And that is all you are going to do for now, this one short assignment.
Shitty First Drafts
Even better than the technique of doing short assignments is the technique of writing shitty first drafts. Go ahead and write whatever you’re going to write about Germany in the 1930’s. You don’t have to use complete sentences or good grammar or even do a spell-check because no one will see this draft. Give yourself permission to write the worst trash in the world. This is an important starting point for any writer because brilliant prose does not usually come out on the first try. To get to the brilliant prose that might emerge after several revisions, you need to start with something and that something is usually a terrible first draft. Without that first draft to shape into the writing that you want, you have nothing to work with. So write that shitty first draft and then let it sit for a while before revising. When you finally do come back to it, you will have a new-found perspective on what you wrote. You will see more clearly what is good about it and what is not so good about it. At that point, you can revise it. And once you begin to revise, you will no longer be facing a blank page.
So, give yourself a short assignment, write a shitty first draft, and watch your fear disappear.
