When anxiety affects writers like you, you know how hard it can be to keep writing even when you’re feeling a bit nervous or stressed. There are a few ways to get yourself started again. For some writers, they find that focusing on one content segment or scene at a time helps them overcome their anxiety.
Coping with Anxiety
Another way to cope with anxiety is to set up time limits on writing. This can be very helpful. You can write more when you have a deadline to meet. But it can also cause you to work harder. It’s not necessarily the pressure that causes you to write more; it’s your mind’s response to the time limit that can make you work harder.
Writing anxiety can be caused by many different factors, and it’s important to be aware of them so you can overcome them. For example, some people suffer from writer’s block because they don’t have the confidence to produce the best work. Other people worry that they don’t have enough knowledge about the topic, or they don’t have time to produce a high quality piece of writing.
If you have severe anxiety about writing, you can be overwhelmed by the thought of completing a content section or chapter. Instead of getting stuck, you may feel jittery, sweaty, or dizzy. Eventually, you may experience a full-blown panic attack. Your anxiety can also cause you to avoid starting your project, or you may start to produce work that isn’t of the best quality.
Tips and Suggestions
Listed below are several ways I have found to overcome any anxiety I have while writing.
Support Group
Having a support group can help you get through the anxiety. Whether it’s family members, friends, or a writing mentor like Candace Sinclair, having someone to turn to when you’re feeling stressed can really help you. Sharing your writing with others can also help you gain valuable feedback and perspective on your work.
Practice Self-Care
You can practice self-care by taking care of yourself through activities such as getting enough sleep every night, eating a healthy diet, and taking breaks from writing throughout the day. The better you take care of yourself the quicker you’ll reduce anxiety levels and your overall well-being will improve.
Reminisce
Another method for dealing with anxiety is to think back to when you were writing before. Think of the times when it seemed easy for you to write or journal your thoughts and then you would turn those thoughts into chapters or content segments for your book. How did you feel when your writing just flowed so easily? By bringing up those memories, you can remind yourself of how to handle the situation in the future.
Get Physical
A few other tips to help you overcome your writing anxiety include taking a brisk walk, going to the gym, dancing until you drop, or performing a 100-star jump. Getting out of your comfort zone can help you develop new writing skills, so take advantage of that.
Check Your Mindset
When I’m facing lots of writing deadlines, I make sure my mindset is positive. I do deep nasal breathing, take time for meditation each morning, and I make sure to get outside for at least thirty minutes during the day.
Google Scholar’s List
You can find out if you have writing anxiety by checking out Google Scholar’s list of hundreds of articles on the topic.
Writing Tools and Techniques
As a writer, you have access to various tools and techniques to help ease anxiety and stress about writing. Here are some suggestions:
Freewriting: Freewriting is a writing exercise where you write continuously for a set amount of time, without worrying about grammar, spelling, or punctuation. It can help you overcome writer’s block and reduce anxiety by allowing you to get your thoughts and ideas down on paper without judgment.
Meditation: Meditation can help calm your mind and reduce stress and anxiety. Try taking a few deep breaths before you start writing, or try a guided meditation session to help you relax.
Setting realistic goals: Setting achievable writing goals can help reduce the pressure and stress you may feel about writing. Instead of setting unrealistic goals that you may not be able to meet, break your writing tasks into smaller, manageable goals.
Using writing prompts: Writing prompts can help spark creativity and make it easier to get started on a writing project. They can also help you focus your thoughts and ideas, which can reduce anxiety about where to start.
Color-Coded Notecards
Color-coded notecards can help writers become more efficient by providing a quick and visual way to organize and prioritize their ideas. Here are some ways color-coded notecards can be beneficial for writers:
Categorizing ideas:
Writers can assign different colors to different categories or themes related to their writing project. For example, blue notecards can represent ideas related to character development, while yellow notecards can represent ideas related to plot.
Organizing information:
Once writers have categorized their ideas, they can arrange their notecards in a logical order. This can help writers see the structure of their writing project more clearly and identify any gaps or redundancies.
Prioritizing tasks:
Writers can also use color-coded notecards to prioritize tasks. For example, red notecards can represent high-priority tasks that need to be completed soon, while green notecards can represent low-priority tasks that can be completed later.
Brainstorming:
Color-coded notecards can also be useful for brainstorming. By jotting down ideas on different colored notecards, writers can easily see patterns and connections between their ideas.
Overall, color-coded notecards can be a simple but effective tool for writers to stay organized, focused, and efficient.
Remember that writing can be a challenging and vulnerable process. However, by using the tips, resources, and techniques presented in this blog post, you can ease your anxiety and stress levels and make the process more enjoyable and fulfilling.