Stop Thinking, Start Doing
A problem I've always suffered from is that I over-think things. Anything from interactions with people, to test scores, to whether or not I can/should/want to do something. Thinking before you act is all well and good, but there comes a time when you've spent so long thinking that you're not actually get anything done.
For example, where I could've been writing blog posts all day today, I instead spent the whole day thinking about writing blog posts. Funnily enough, I realised this evening that I was no closer to having written a successful blog than I was this morning.
That's not to say that I haven't achieved anything. I found something to write about in this post, after all. I also discovered - according to multiple sources, coolest among which was startbloggingonline.com - that blogging is simple. You get a domain, set it up and just start writing about your chosen topic.
That's all I really needed to know. Thinking about it more isn't going to get me any further.
Overthinking Writing
While I'm on the subject of thinking too much, I thought (...) that I might as well cover one of the major pitfalls I've encountered as a writer. Overthinking your work.
Many writers I've spoken to (and whose journals I've read) are like me, in the sense that we're very rarely happy with what we write. There's almost always something about that chapter (or passage, or conversation) that doesn't feel quite right. Sometimes, I come back the next day, see a genuine mistake or pit that I've written myself into, and work my way around it. Other times, it's just an invisible problem that I'm pretty sure is there, but can't actually figure out.
It used to be that those kinds of 'problems' would leave me in a perpetual state of writer's block. I would re-write and brainstorm and re-write, over and over and over again. But no matter how long or hard I worked, that chapter would never be quite perfect.
About six months into the most notable of writer's blocks from which I've suffered, I had an epiphany. "Maybe I'm seeing a problem that's not there. Maybe I'm just thinking about this too much, and what I had originally... actually worked fine." So, I published the original chapter online and asked people to feed back on it.
Funnily enough, everyone loved it. If there was a problem, no-one to whom I showed the chapter could see it.
Get A Second Opinion
Since then, I've come to realise something very important about my writing. Analysing my work is only good for the first one or two editing passes. After that, anything more that I do is OVERanalysing. Without exception, it'll get me nowhere but deeper behind the dreaded wall that is writer's block.
If you find yourself in the same situation, seriously consider asking someone else to look it over. Writer's groups or communities are great for this - filled with like-minded people who are reasonably unbiased. Friends and family are conveniently quite willing to help you out, but be mindful that they won't always be as objective when reviewing your work - they're less likely to find issue with it, because they want to tell you that they like it.
But if that's all you've got, then it'll do. Better to get a biased opinion from a mate that convinces you to show your work to the world, than to sit at home staring at your chapter for the rest of your life.
Just my two bits! Hope it helps someone out.
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Fallen into this trap yourself? Any other advice for those that have? Hit me up in the comments section below!
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