The Biggest Writer’s Block?

I was recently asked in an author interview what was the one bit of advice I think is most important that I would give other potential authors? I said without hesitating, “keep believing in yourself.”

I know from teaching college students how to write their first book that the number one roadblock that stands in their way is the doubt that they can actually write a book that’s worthy of people reading it. They start and don’t finish. Or they finish and never publish it. Or worse yet, they never get started at all, even though they have lots of great stories to tell.

I am editing two books now as part of my book coaching business. For both writers, it is their very first manuscript. The first (let’s call him Joe) is writing a book about his wife who has Alzheimer’s and his journey as her caregiver. It started out more as a non-fiction “how to” book giving advice to people suffering the early stages of the disease and to their family members who care for them, interspersed with anecdotes and stories about his and his wife’s experiences. I read a first draft and told Joe he really should re-write it as a memoir…he had so many moving experiences to share to which I am sure many people can relate—and it is a moving story that even those with no experience with Alzheimer’s would love to read for its messages of hope, faith and love.

Hesitantly he is heeding my advice but feels unsure whether he is a “good enough writer” to actually pull it off. “I know I’m not a good writer for this sort of material,” he said. “Writing it like a memoir or a novel puts me at a great disadvantage with good writers, and also with readers who are used to reading what good writers write.” But the thing is (and I told him this), he IS a good writer, he just needs guidance. He needs to quit comparing himself to others (a lesson I’ve had to learn over and over.) He just needs to cast doubt aside and believe.

The second writer (let’s call him Dave) has had doubts about whether his book is “worthy” of getting published from the start. I have tried to assure him along the way that it definitely is. I read an initial draft, gave him an editor’s report to guide him to re-write it (like I did with Joe) and now he has sent a finished manuscript for editing and proofing. It is a book about how to practice biblical principles in business matters… a very practical guide from which everyone can benefit in my opinion. And yet, Dave is still unsure whether he really should be publishing it, even while it’s in the editing stages.

In one of my college courses a writer (ironically name Faith) broke down crying at one point. I had been encouraging the class to come up with a writing “plan” (ie., a place and time or schedule to write) but told them it was completely up to them, there were no rules. Faith said she was crying with relief…that she always thought she wasn’t a “real” writer if she didn’t write every day but couldn’t because (like many) she has a day job. She was literally crying with relief!

I have known, and you probably have too, how these writers feel when facing the blank page (or computer screen). But if your dream, desire and motivation are all in line with God’s, I believe you can’t fail. Sure, you will probably need help and you will face obstacles along the way…but half the battle is believing in yourself, and the other half is relying on God, knowing since He put the dream on your heart in the first place, He will help you fulfill it, putting the right people and opportunities in your path.

Yes, only you can do the work…but only you can be the one to give up! So, don’t give into fear (False Evidence Appearing Real). Just do it…or in this case, write it!

Michele Chynoweth is the award-winning author of The Faithful One, The Peace Maker and The Runaway Prophet, contemporary suspense/romance novels based on Old Testament stories in the Bible that get across God’s messages to today’s readers through edgy, fast-paced fiction. Michele is also an inspirational speaker, college instructor on book writing, publishing and marketing, and book coach/editor who helps writers become successful authors. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, she and her husband have a blended family of five children.

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