Start Writing
A main roadblock in people creating books is the activity of writing. Whether it’s finding the time to write, feeling stuck, or like an impostor, people don’t put words to the page. Interest level seems high. Certainly a number of blogs and other news sources have quoted some mysterious statistic that I can’t find the original source for — something like “for every 1,000 who want to write a book, 30 people actually do, and then 6 people get it published.”
Rather than rely on that shaky claim, let’s at least acknowledge the prestige/accomplishment that comes from writing a book. Generally, such a statement is greeted with enthusiasm, wonder, perhaps envy. A general claim that can be made from this is that, “so many people want to write a book, so few actually do.” There. No statistics. There’s a persistent dream of being a writer, not only that a published and well-known/respected author. It has captured the imaginations of many. So, why don’t we have more books?
The nature of any interest is that it must have dedication behind it. If someone can’t find the motivation to continue with their interest, it falls to the wayside. We become “jacks-of-all-trades” with some experience in many areas, but few if any levels of expertise in them. Another roadblock, in this case to pursuing an interest, is the mental fatigue that can occur from doing one thing over and over again. We can become tired and bored after peeking behind the curtain. Once we learn how something works in general and how to do it, we can quickly lose interest. This leads to the abandonment which stalls so many from completing a book.
My theory is there’s another mental trap that creates stall. We turn from anxiety about ever accomplishing it to apathy about doing it at all.
Let’s take a step into psychology for a second. Anxiety is a cycle of “what ifs” that get answered by the safe option: avoidance. So when we get anxious, we feel so uncomfortable that our urge is to get away from the thing entirely. Once we’ve avoided the object of our discomfort (could be a person, place, or activity), we feel relieved. We’ve escaped, for now. However, the next time we try to approach that thing, the anxiety will return and it will have increased in intensity. Failing to try at all has taught our brain that this intimidating thing is best avoided.
To bring this back to writing, people want to write a book. The enthusiasm is high, but then we start to think about it, maybe we hear something or read something that discourages us. The statistics look bad, and isn’t that a lot of work? Before we even get to writing, we stop.
Once we’ve done this enough times, our brains have to protect us somehow. Each failure only heightens the likelihood of a lowered self-esteem. This is where something I’ll call “Learned Apathy” comes in. Now, I’m not the first to coin this term. Seems that a Dr. Markman and Dr. Duke of “Two Guys on Your Head” podcast spoke about this too. But I’m going to apply this to writing.
So we fall into the trap of learned apathy and now the book we wanted to write isn’t important. Other things in our life take greater hold, maybe areas where we’re having more successes. The more we lean into devaluing our interest, the less effort we put toward it. That in itself can create a feedback loop where we get worse and worse, confirming that we shouldn’t have tried at all.
It doesn’t have to be for naught though. Especially with writing, but truly with anything, you can build a skill and increase your passion by finding new ways to engage. But most of all, start writing. Pick up a pen, start typing, practice putting those words down and just see where you’re going. Anne Lamott has a truly legendary article about “Shitty First Drafts” which reminds us that persistence is better than natural talent. You have to write it down before you can edit it. So if you’re wondering where your great novel is, look no further than the page before you and just write.