Conquer writer's "overwhelm"

One of the major reasons writers procrastinate is the feeling that they're overwhelmed by writing. A few days ago I received a touching, long letter from a writer dealing with this issue.

I was pleased the letter was long. It signaled that the writer has an understanding of what her challenge is, and that's at least 90 per cent of her recovery.

The symptoms of writer's overwhelm - is this you?

Here are the symptoms:

* Anxiety about writing, leading to avoidance;

* Feeling tired, washed out - all the symptoms of flu :-);

* Inertia, or complete writer's block.

The treatment for overwhelm - "so what!"

If you're suffering from the weight of overwhelm, your first step is to shrug it off. Turn off the doom and gloom-laden voices in your head by responding "so what!" whenever you have a negative thought about your writing.

"So what!" always works wonders. :-)

Next, write down the thoughts that you're having about your writing. Once they're on paper, they lose their force - they're only powerful when they're locked in your subconscious mind. Crumple the paper and toss it in the trash.

The final step is not to write for at least three days.

You can answer your email, but that's all. Even if you have deadlines, follow this prescription - no writing! It's important that your subconscious mind understands that your conscious mind is in control, so take control, and don't write.

You'll find that if you follow this process, even once, you'll develop a much more balanced attitude to writing. Remember... "So what!"

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