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OUR WRITING
ANXIETY - 10 WAYS TO BRING RELIEF by Lynda Blake
Anxiety, apprehension, cold feet,
consternation, dismay, distress, dread, fear, fright, horror, nervousness,
panic, scare, strain, stress, tension, terror, trepidation, unease or
uneasiness: whatever it's called, you've got it.
And the reason is ...
you've got to write an article!
Writing anxiety or 'writer's block'
happens to all writers at some point in their writing lives. It may be that you
don't know what to write about or, with your topic firmly in place, you don't
know where to start.
At this point, procrastination sets in.
Doing anything, rather than actually writing, seems a whole lot better than
putting pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard. Even walking the dog, in
pouring rain and gale-force winds, has higher priority!
Try some of
these ways to restore your writing equilibrium:
1. Avoid starting
with a blank page. There's nothing more daunting than beginning from
nothing. Work with a template. This will help you to stay focused on your
topic. Download and print out some appropriate free graphic organizers from the
Internet or use graphic organizer software, like NotateIt, that will help you
to rearrange and organise your thoughts in freestyle format.
2.
Brainstorm your topic. Take some time out for creative thinking with a
friend or colleague. You'll get some new twists on the theme, especially if
they're not 'experts' in your subject matter!
3. Write an
outline. Just set out a list of headings. They don't even have to be in
order - you can always rearrange them later. Write each heading on a separate
card or piece of paper and shuffle the result. A new order may emerge that you
hadn't thought of, giving you a new slant on your topic.
4. Use a
whiteboard. Fix a large magnetic whiteboard on your wall and use it to
rearrange your ideas. If a whiteboard on the wall feels too intrusive, try some
inexpensive whiteboard software on your PC instead.
5. Break your
task down into smaller chunks. From your outline, choose one heading and
write. Then go on to another heading and write. It doesn't matter which order
you write in, because it can all be rearranged later. Not only that, you're
achieving your larger goal in a series of smaller steps and that makes it much
more manageable.
6. Write in the way that you speak. It's
friendlier to read and it's an easier and more natural way for you to write.
7. Don't worry about perfection too soon. Spell checking,
indenting paragraphs, changing font size - this is the icing on the cake. Just
let your writing flow and, just for once, forget the grammar. Perfection can
come later - at the redrafting stage.
8. Think about your readers
in a different way. You may be anxious that your article is not "good
enough" to be read by your peers. Remember, even if your audience are
"experts", they don't know what you think about your subject. Nor does it mean
that they know everything there is to know about a subject area. Target your
writing towards an intelligent, enthusiastic, but non-expert, reader and your
writing confidence will grow.
9. You've completed your writing.
This is your first draft. The secret, now, is to redraft and redraft again.
You'd be surprised at just how many things you'll want to say differently when
the sun rises tomorrow! Read your article once a day, make changes then put it
aside until the next day. In a few days, you'll read your article and find
nothing to change. That's when you're ready to publish!
10. Believe
in yourself. The first articles you write may not be perfect but the more
you write, the better your style will become. It's like learning to walk - all
it takes is a little time and lots of practice.
(c) 2005 Lynda Blake
About the Author:
Lynda Blake is a UK freelance writer
Resources used in preparing this article: Whiteboard Software:
http://www.notateit.com
Free Graphic Organizers: http://www.nutsinmay.com
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