Thinking About It

Many writers spend more time thinking about writing than they do in actual writing. This, of course, is truer of the freelancer than the salaried writer although it can deter any writer from the actual job of writing.

Waiting or one's Muse is a favorite excuse for many writers. They wait for inspiration to come to them rather and searching for it. That moment of epiphany may never come so they remain wannabes with a plethora of excuses for not facing the typewriter or the computer screen. Perhaps this is truer of fiction or poetry than non-fiction writers. Certainly it's truer of freelancers and salaried writers.

Waiting for one's Muse is the primarily excuse for procrastination. The lack of a plan or goals can produce delaying the act of sitting at the typewriter or computer and putting words to paper. Probably, then, it is wise for any writer to set out goals and an agenda for achieving these goals. Most successful writers agree that stating aspirations and then devising a plan to accomplish them is the first step to success.

This brings us to next reason to avoid writing: the lack of purpose. Many writers dream of success as fame and fortune but with little thought as to how they will bring about that. It is nothing more than a dream, a fantasy, or even a chimera. So it is very important that the writer or would be writer decides on the reason for writing: is it for self-satisfaction, is it for affluence, is it for acclaim or recognition, and is it to fulfill some enigmatic need. Whatever the aspiration, it should be well though out if the writer expects to become an author.

One of the greatest deterrents to writing is the fear of failure. Most, if not all writers, feel this at one time or another in their career. Usually, of course, this is at the beginning of their writing career. They wonder if they are good enough to succeed; they wonder if readers—be they editors, agents, or publishers—will consider their work to be worthwhile for publication because that is the prime reason that most write. Always, at the back of their mind, is this ghoul that haunts them and often prevents them from producing.

Last, but not least, is humans' tendency to laziness. Writing is hard work; writing is arduous and demanding. It requires lonely hours when the writer is alone with his or her thoughts, molding them, synthesizing them, stirring them, and polishing them into words, sentences, paragraphs, and compositions. Naturally, humans seek the easy, the satisfying, the comfortable way, so that means that writing is avoided, even abandoned.

So do not let pondering, daydreaming, or fantasizing take the place of writing. Sit at the typewriter or computer and put words, sentences, and paragraph down. Once started the flow will continue, and one will be a writer!

Charles O. Goulet has a BA in history and a BEd in English literature. He has written several historical novels that are available at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes and Noble, and many other bookstores. He also maintains a blog at http://go1c.bravejournal.com