7 WAYS I TRIED TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF WRITING... AND IT WORKED
𝟏. 𝐃𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.
The first steps of a child are never perfect. But every time the baby falls, she gets up. Her legs shake, but still, she tries.
Imagine if the baby didn’t take the steps out of fear. Would it ever be able to learn how to walk?
Achieving perfection should never be your goal. Even the great English novelists such as Ernest Hemingway and Winston Churchill had wrong spellings and lousy grammar despite being born and raised in English speaking countries.
Trying to do something should be the first goal. Therefore, keep trying. Do not worry about spellings, grammar, expression, vocabulary, et cetera. We can cover it later.
Never expect too much from yourself, just do your work and improve with consistency.
𝟐. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭.
I used to dread the blank pages. The hardest part of writing something, even today, is writing the first sentence.
Will it strike the reader? Will it help me grab their attention? Is it the right sentence to begin with? What if it looks unimpressive?
These are not the questions. These are the fears.
So, what is the way to deal with the fear?
My mentor told me the best way to overcome the fear of writing is to write.
Write, write and write. If you still feel afraid, take out a paper, grab a pen and write. Even if it doesn’t help, then write more. More and more. It is like building muscle: the more you work out, the more muscular you will be.
Ladies and gentlemen, that is the only panacea for your writing troubles. There is no other way out.
Therefore, challenge yourself. Write about anything you like. You see a cow and love its brown spots, write about it.
You watched a drama, but you did not like it, write about it. If you are tired of working in the kitchen while your brothers are having fun with their friends, write about it.
If you are a married guy and your wife troubles you, write about it. If your husband is not cooperating in household matters, write about it.
Write about anything you find engaging and thought-provoking. But, please, keep writing.
𝟑. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲.
We are a sensitive nation, as our feelings get hurt quite easily. One of the easiest job in the world is to offend a Pakistani. We have so much offence to take, that we do not find time for anything productive.
Since it is in our nature, we do not like to take criticism. We often consider it to be something negative. It can be harmful sometimes, but mostly it is beneficial for us.
Therefore, never hesitate to take genuine criticism.
Show the work you have written to your mentor, friend or even someone preparing for this exam. Of course, not everyone will like it. In fact, only a few will like it. Everyone else has a thing or two to tell you.
But always approach this criticism with a bit of positivity, accept it wholeheartedly, follow the suggestions, and better yourself the next time. Always do if it comes from your mentor. You will go a long way.
𝟒. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
I have seen many aspirants who have the potential of being a good writer, but they do not write. They procrastinate. They keep waiting, become lazy and waste their time. It might be either due to a sense of complacency that they are already good, or the fear of writing engulfs them.
Whatever the case, the sands of time slip quite fast. And you only have a few years to prepare for. And earlier, the better.
The best way to counter procrastination is to make a commitment to either yourself, a friend, or the public on social media.
𝟓. 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭.
Do not start with writing an essay at the outset. Never!
Start with something smaller. Start with a paragraph. Then move to two paragraphs. Then start writing idea expansion. Move from paragraph to idea expansion in 3 months, if you have doubts. But I am sure that you will find yourself writing idea expansion comfortably within a month if you start today.
Therefore, set some achievable goals. Do not shoot for the stars directly. Shoot for the nearby tree or a tall building first.
𝟔. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞
Like every skill, you need to learn writing from an expert.
Many people ask me, “Is it possible to learn this and that with self-study?”
Of course, it is. But it will take you a very long time. By then, someone with a mentor will surpass you in a relatively short time. Unless you are a genius or you already know how to write.
What if Madam Abida Parveen had no teacher? She would have been like Atif Aslam, with all those scattered notes and fluctuations. She is a legend of this sub-continent because she has learnt it.
Find someone who can teach you how to write correctly. Not only this, get your work assessed from the same mentor. You cannot learn from one and get evaluated by another.
𝟕. 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭.
We all do have doubts about ourselves. We often think that we are not good at all. We consider ourselves to be ordinary. We are ordinaries. Not all of us are Jalal-ud-Din Rumi or Albert Einsteins. But, it is ordinary that makes up the world. And every ordinary has something special about her.
Whenever you write something, do not doubt it. It is a self-defeating, self-harming approach. Whatever you have written, embrace it, and own it. “Yes, I have written this. And I think it is good enough” should be your way to deal with it. Once you have owned it, now is the time to get assessed.
But do remember, confidence comes with consistency.
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𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧
You are a writer already. It is only that the writer is fast asleep. Just disturb his/her sleep and shake the writer out of it.
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| 7 WAYS I TRIED TO OVERCOME THE FEAR OF WRITING... AND IT WORKED |