I took a break from social media and started to write blog posts every single day. I often feel uninspired and I know that few if any posts are read, but as I wrote, blogging is a conversation with oneself. It's an opportunity to be mindful for half an hour to an hour per day. I like writing daily now. Part of my motivation comes from being ignored on FaceBook and Twitter. If FB and TW make money from me wasting time, then I will invest it in blogging. I'm afraid of writing on substack, for now.
This! Fear ✔ Potential humiliation ✔ Procrastination ✔ I've written a fair amount, but very little has been seen by anyone other than me. Getting set up on here was my way of dipping a toe in the water. It might be a while until I feel ready to post anything, but you've got to start somewhere!
I absolutely love your direct titles. I got here from Suw's News, which I also like. I enjoyed this post, particularly the following of the flight - it put me right in the room with you, I felt like I was sitting and looking at you type over your shoulder (sorry, that sounds creepy but you brought me there!)
But, is it the fear of writing or the fear of publishing? Do you feel that the "blank page fear" is the same as the "public failure" fear? I wonder sometimes whether if I could distill it, to tease them apart scientifically, I might be able to overcome both. Maybe it's my psych/academia training talking. Maybe sometimes it's better to just ignore both and carry on. I don't know.
Suw,I know this is an old newsletter, but I was going back through the ones I missed before I subscribed and I had to say that when I told my dad I wanted to be a writer he said, “it’s very difficult to earn a living in publishing” because, despite knowing nothing at all about it, he’d presumably read something to that effect in the Telegraph. Of course, what he didn’t know was that his idea of a “living” and the unknown Telegraph journalist’s idea of a “living” were two very different things. But he wanted me to properly enter the middle class and I took that lesson to heart and believed it was a foolish dream from then on.
I arrived here from a search for Ada Lovelace Day. I tried to fill in your questionnaire about a paid sub to keep ALD going but it didn’t like my phone. I’ll try again when I get home next week.
I’m in a small creative writing group and that keeps me writing. I’m just in the throes of trying to get my first novel published, and have a similar issue to the funding of ALD. Do I keep sending out letters to agents and publishers or go via the subscription route?
As an unknown retired engineer, rather than a quiz show host or other celebrity, it seems the literary world may need some convincing.
Writing pitches is my least favourite form of writing. I much prefer a character who taps me in the head, saying, ‘Hey, it’s my turn now.’
I hope your writing mojo keeps you going. You’ve certainly inspired me and brought Ada into my life.
I took a break from social media and started to write blog posts every single day. I often feel uninspired and I know that few if any posts are read, but as I wrote, blogging is a conversation with oneself. It's an opportunity to be mindful for half an hour to an hour per day. I like writing daily now. Part of my motivation comes from being ignored on FaceBook and Twitter. If FB and TW make money from me wasting time, then I will invest it in blogging. I'm afraid of writing on substack, for now.
This! Fear ✔ Potential humiliation ✔ Procrastination ✔ I've written a fair amount, but very little has been seen by anyone other than me. Getting set up on here was my way of dipping a toe in the water. It might be a while until I feel ready to post anything, but you've got to start somewhere!
I absolutely love your direct titles. I got here from Suw's News, which I also like. I enjoyed this post, particularly the following of the flight - it put me right in the room with you, I felt like I was sitting and looking at you type over your shoulder (sorry, that sounds creepy but you brought me there!)
But, is it the fear of writing or the fear of publishing? Do you feel that the "blank page fear" is the same as the "public failure" fear? I wonder sometimes whether if I could distill it, to tease them apart scientifically, I might be able to overcome both. Maybe it's my psych/academia training talking. Maybe sometimes it's better to just ignore both and carry on. I don't know.
Suw,I know this is an old newsletter, but I was going back through the ones I missed before I subscribed and I had to say that when I told my dad I wanted to be a writer he said, “it’s very difficult to earn a living in publishing” because, despite knowing nothing at all about it, he’d presumably read something to that effect in the Telegraph. Of course, what he didn’t know was that his idea of a “living” and the unknown Telegraph journalist’s idea of a “living” were two very different things. But he wanted me to properly enter the middle class and I took that lesson to heart and believed it was a foolish dream from then on.
I arrived here from a search for Ada Lovelace Day. I tried to fill in your questionnaire about a paid sub to keep ALD going but it didn’t like my phone. I’ll try again when I get home next week.
I’m in a small creative writing group and that keeps me writing. I’m just in the throes of trying to get my first novel published, and have a similar issue to the funding of ALD. Do I keep sending out letters to agents and publishers or go via the subscription route?
As an unknown retired engineer, rather than a quiz show host or other celebrity, it seems the literary world may need some convincing.
Writing pitches is my least favourite form of writing. I much prefer a character who taps me in the head, saying, ‘Hey, it’s my turn now.’
I hope your writing mojo keeps you going. You’ve certainly inspired me and brought Ada into my life.