This Could be the Real Reason Why You are Not Writing
Writer’s block may not be the only reason why we fail to write more frequently; perfectionism could also be a reason. Perfectionism is harder to spot and if it goes unrecognised it can prevent a writer from identifying the true reason for their lack of productivity.
This is the first article I’ve written for Triond in almost a year. I thought I knew the reason why it had taken me so long to write; I told myself it was because I didn’t know what to write about. I agonised over what would be my genre or my niche; I told myself I needed to know definitively what excited me in order to start the writing juices flowing abundantly. But as time went by I realised that not knowing what to write about was not the problem; it was the excuse.
The real problem was my perfectionism. I felt I needed to see a perfect article in my mind’s eye first before I could begin to type even a single sentence. I was completely obsessed with writing a brilliant article, one that would go viral immediately. I would spend week after week wondering what perfect piece could I write that would sky-rocket me to the success I craved. This was perfectionism at its worse but I could not see it at the time.
Perfectionism can be hard to spot because it is often disguised as writer’s block and even when we do identify it as the culprit it can be difficult to eradicate. One method that is working for me is to initially write as though I am not writing for an audience. I find that writing as though my words were meant for my eyes only can be tremendously liberating because it can effectively keep the drive for perfectionism at bay and cause me to write much more than I would otherwise.
Striving for perfection in one’s work is not inherently a bad thing. It is when perfectionism prevents you from taking action that you have to look at it as an enemy and not a friend. If you suspect that perfectionism is stopping you from taking the actions necessary to improve any area of your life, then take action you must. It is when we take action in spite of our fear of not being perfect that we begin to break this negative habit.
Most writers go through periods when they find they are not writing as much as they would want. Correctly identifying the reason can make the crucial difference between whether you take a week or a year to write your next article. If you find you are not writing as much as you would like and you have not yet thought of perfectionism as the cause, consider it. For like me when you do correctly identify this illusive condition as the reason why you are not writing, you could experience a liberation that will free you to write much more than you have written in a long time.
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March 22nd, 2009 at 11:11 pm
Oddly, the same doesn’t hold true for people who leave comments on websites.
March 24th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
How ironic that I read your article today. I signed up for Triond some time ago and STILL haven’t written. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights.
March 24th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Hello,
This is so true. The best way to get over writer’s block is to just start to write without worrying about editing.
There are ideas all around us. We simply just have to spot them.
March 24th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Hi aabraham, I hope you do get writing soon, it is a very satisfying feeling. I will look out for your first article. I am glad I was able to provide some insight.
March 30th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
well done
April 1st, 2009 at 10:16 pm
Yeah perfectionism is not always a good thing to have. By start writing we keep getting more idea to write. Just like a domino.
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:06 am
you may be right.
May 9th, 2009 at 8:33 am
The easiest way to overcome perfectionist writing blockage is to spend a disciplined period of time each day (say 15 minutes) copying word-for-word, comma-for-comma, the work of an author you like.
Do this for a couple of weeks, and you will quickly discover two things: One that you can write just as well, and Two, you will find your own ideas falling onto your word processor quicker than a Californian bushfire.
By doing this, you physically give yourself permission to write, and write well. You will quickly overcome the prejudice of thinking you have to be John Grisham. You don’t. You can copy John Grisham. Then you can be yourself.
May 10th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Hi Kevin, thank you for your comment, I’ve learned a lot from it.