fear

All posts tagged fear

Spread your writing wings, it’s bittersweet

Posted by george on March 7, 2009
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , . 18 comments

One of the first posts I ever wrote was about a site called Textbroker.  In fact, it may have been my very first post – I’ll have to check.  I’ve mentioned Textbroker in several comments and when advising new writers where to start writing for money, I always point them to Textbroker.com.

One of the methods used in writing for Textbroker is Direct Orders.  These are orders where a client has seen your other work on Textbroker, they like what they see and they want a specific writer to do a job for them.  This was the case when I received a direct order from Kelly who needed web content written for her new, all natural cosmetics website.  Now I know it’s hard to believe, but I typically don’t wear make-up.  Really.  Guess what.  I took the job anyway.

Huh?

Well, I did have the advantage of having recently completed a stockists directory for a UK company, where I reviewed and wrote descriptions for 50 cosmetics sites.  So I guess I wasn’t completely out of my league.

Kelly was and is a great client.  She is easy to work with, very clear on what she is looking for and is not prone to fits of indecision (re-write itis).  I developed content for her about page and home page and a few other things and then…

I received her request to name and give product descriptions based on pictures she would send of her lip gloss line.  Hmm says I.  I’m thinking Old Spice, English Leather and Hi-Karate are about all I might know about this.

But I’m not afraid

I recently wrote a post about fear and writing.  An addendum to that post would advise writers to not be afraid to spread their wings and give something new to them a try.  In fact, keeping your focus too narrow will cause you to miss out on valuable work.  This is part of the reason I accepted Kelly’s request.  And the fact that she is a good person in general.

Actually I had a lot of fun coming up with names and descriptions.  It was a form of creative writing that left me satiated.

BitternSweet

Just this last week I heard from Kelly with a request for more writing.  She also let me know that Bitter Sweet Cosmetics was now live with their web site.  I headed right over for a look.  it still amazes me to see something I’ve written in a different setting other than a Word doc.  I had to smile as the product names and descriptions came to life.  Shazzam, Dark Tangerine Blitz and Electric Passion were there in all their glory.  Their sister glosses equally bright, the products page just rocks.

It was fun to help a great new company.  I really felt like a team member and through the writing, I was able to see the value and importance of an All Natural cosmetic line.

The takeaway

If I had said, “What?  Name a cosmetic line?  But what does a 48 year old big ol’ bald guy know about THAT?”  I never would have had this great experience.  I would have closed a door instead of opening one.

Do not be afraid to take on a job because you know nothing about the subject.  Heck, I’m writing a 70 page e-book on Ant Extermination right now.  Not much of an entymo um, enta ant guy right now, but I sure will be when I’m done.  I’m writing 20 SEO articles for an operating system I’ve never used.  Get the point?

Be excited to spread your writing wings a little.  Run with it.  Have FUN with it.  You’ll be glad you did.

What are your experiences?  Do you stick only to what you know?

What’s stopping you from writing

Posted by george on February 9, 2009
Posted in: Writing. Tagged: , , , . 7 comments

I admire those prolific writers amongst us that have the ability to sit down and write each and every day.  I can appreciate the effort because I know that the best way o become a good writer is to write.  Every day.  Gee, it sure is easy to preach that.  I have been know as Mr. Blue Skies” and while there is more than a kernel of truth to that, I am also a realist and know that sometimes it’s easier to talk the talk.  Walking the walk is hard.

This is not a post about breaking writer’s block.  Yeah, yeah, yeah. Blah, blah, blah.  That’s all been said before.  Heck, done a couple of posts about it myself.   See How to break the idea barrier Nope.  I don’t care about writer’s block here.  I want to know

What is stopping you from writing?

A great leadership professor once taught me that people need to be secure and they need to be significant.  Frustrate the need to be secure and you generate fear.  Frustrate the need to be significant and you generate anger.  So let me ask you, is your lack of writing based on fear or anger?

Fear

I’ll tackle this first, because I think that for a lot of folks this is the biggie.  Remember that fear comes from a lack of security.  How secure is it to think that if you pour your heart and soul into a book you face months and possibly years of rejection by agents and publishers?  Holy crap.  That should strike fear into the heart of the most stalwart of us.  Why would anyone in their right mind type out a single word?

As writers we live in a remarkable age.  We have access to tools and technology that even twenty years ago were unheard of.  I’m referencing this whole business of self publishing.  Last weeks guest post on the subject drew an extremely enlightening comment parade.  I’ve already made the decision.  When I’ve got my books in relatively printable form I am going to enlist the services of a self publishing company.  The sense of relief in my mind is considerable.  My focus is no longer on the tickle in the back of my head reminding me of all the rejection that lay ahead.  I can write!

Other generators of fear include the fear of not being good enough or worthy enough to write a book that people will actually be willing to slap cold, hard cash on the counter in order to own it for themselves.  I’m telling you right now to trust yourself to know that you have something grand inside you.  It wants out.  You want it out.  That faith, that confidence will shine in your writing whether you or your readers visibly recognize it or not.

If you’re afraid that you don’t have the technical skills to put together grammatically correct sentences, then that’s understandable.  But – no excuse for not writing.  Sorry.  Do the very best you can, live the Strunk and White lifestyle and sally forth.

Anger

If a lack of significance is fueling your lack of writing then your path is remarkably different from those of us who have writing apoplexy due to fear.  Someone, somewhere, at some time convinced you that you were not significant enough to write a book.  You need  to de-construct what they set the foundation for.  As Master Yoda says, “You must un-learn what you have learned”.

Hear me on this.  You are significant.  Every one of us is placed here for a reason, and if your heart is pulling you towards a writing venture then you owe it to yourself to pay attention to that tug.  No one else knows what is inside of you.  No one has the ability to stop you from birthing into the world what is uniquely yours.

For some folks, anger is a great motivator.  If so, use this to your advantage to get the ball rolling.  If “I’ll show them” gets you moving in the right direction then so be it.  Do not let the anger mobilize you.  Take control and get your dream back.

Do not let fear and anger keep you from your destiny.  Do not let those things keep you from what could be the most special thing you ever do for yourself.  Now is the time.  Not tomorrow, not later today, not after breakfast – NOW.

Yoda image from Wookiepedia