i have a lot of fear around writing and publishing i’m afraid it’s going to be bad or dumb, or that what i have to say isn’t worthwhile - so i don’t even start anyone else? techniques to overcome this?
Check out https://bearblog.dev/discover/! I think it's a great place to start writing!
It’s like politics.. the people who should do it, don’t… the people who don’t, probably should. I’d read your work. Also, split the diff. You can start anonymously and out yourself once it becomes a habit you enjoy.
Start writing and share it with someone that you know that values you. That person will be sincere , because he wants the best for you. Artists often undervalue their talents , that’s why having a core of people that care can mean a big difference. Keep at it🫡
One main perspective shift is to view writing as an experiment. Instead of each piece needing to “work” or “resonate well”, you then get the freedom to try new things where failure is a natural part of the process.
It's simple. Write and send it to a few people. Take it from there.
I always just yolo it, it’ll probably be dumb and bad but as long as I can get my point across lol
Write and share daily. Even if it’s just in your notes. Happy to be your first reader! I had traumatic writing experiences in school. An English teacher told me I was a bad writer in front of the whole class. Ghostwriting got me over it.
Something I wrote a few weeks ago. I post mostly micro format now, but I care less now about anything I “publish” as I did in the past.
I feel this way about public repositories, my old writing is bad and my new is better though.
Lower your standards for what is fit to publish and share Also, recognizing that there aren’t any original ideas
Built an app back in the day to solve exactly this! Write a story, every day, for 5 mins. http://avostories.com
Just write & publish. Let it go. Don’t overthink it. Try to create a streak.
I find myself noticing that the winners aren’t the ones with the *chef’s kiss* perfect content - they are the ones who post.every.single.day. Be prolific and you will earn a following.
Would you be willing to write if the platform gave you access for to editors and other collaborators? Incentive for collaborators is that you offer IP cut for their help.
The realization that the vast majority of people in the world do not give a sh*t about my posts helped me. And even those few who do give some sh*t, care much, much, much less than what I'd think. Just ship and do your reps.
Honestly it never goes away. You just ship enough that you get numb to the nervousness 🫡
A few things that work for me: Treating writing like Exercise: more important to show up regularly. Not everything needs to be publish Big Hits Model: most writing will suck, but all it takes is one piece Write w/ others. @cameron worked on a piece together I couldn’t have done alone
Related essay I wrote about writing https://www.wysr.xyz/p/how-to-publish-31-essays-in-31-days
can definitely relate. I tend to fall into the perfectionist trap & if peeling back the layers of the onion, at the core of it is fear. If you wanted to start a little writing group to help each other out with overcoming fear, getting feedback, a second set of eyes, etc. I would be all in for something like that.
Have the same thought now that we are starting an engineering blog. Having someone to help you proofreading your work could be great (I’m here if you need something)
This resonates with me, although my challenge is more finding something that I think is worthy to write. I convince myself that every idea is too obvious and that it's not original enough to warrant spending time on
And if you are starting from scratch, anything at all will be largely ignored at first because you have no audience, no one knows your content is available. Which can reinforce the idea that what you are writing isn’t ‘worthwhile’ because no one responded to it. Write to find your voice. It takes practice.
In a past life I was an academic and wrote bullet proof articles. I also write books (non fiction and poetry) that belong to a different pace and place. And yet online is the form that terrified me the most. But someone else said it best: just publish. Online is the perfect lab to explore and overcome that fear. Do it!
Focus on launching your Minimum Viable Content and refining both substance and process as you go. If you're doing it because you enjoy the process and want to engage with others on a specific topic > doing it to try and pay the bills, it can be quite enjoyable. If you plan to go into politics, disregard this
My rule of thumb is: If I fear that what I've written is bad or dumb, then it probably is and I should work on it harder. It works both ways - if I think that what I've written is good, I trust my gut. The best way to start for me was to start with small ideas. Can you write one insightful line? Then try with two etc
Have you ever read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield? The entire book is about this. So many techniques for sure but the underlying one is all about developing the discipline to just write… daily. It could be anything, as long as the habit is formed.
I feel the same and am also trying to break out of my shell. I spent much of my life being the odd one out, but I’ve come to find out that no matter what thoughts you have, someone somewhere can share or at least understand your thoughts.
Enlist a few friends in the same spot (many of us are) and make a pact to write and release one piece once a week/or every two week. Sharing the fear in a safe environment and frequency lower pressure.
I just deleted everything I wrote yesterday because today it seems like the wording is all off. It’s so difficult 😞 I’m gonna try just documenting my questions with gpt3 for a week instead
I like to think about writing as a way to share evolving thoughts and learn your voice as a writer. As people read and share feedback, you can iterate and build your own techniques of what works for you overtime. Writing isn’t static. I often go back to articles I’ve written previously and change as thinking evo
I feel so many of these casts and @j4ck’s is another! For all facets of life, the sooner you stop carrying what people think, the easier it gets. Unless you’re willing to be a fool, you can’t learn anything new. Couple of inspiring videos, imho. https://youtube.com/shorts/5ddoauDayW4 https://youtu.be/YybkXBHm9SM
Pick a dumb goal like “post 100”. Let that goal be the true north. Really just have to power through at first.
I found Dan Harmon’s story circle a useful way to break out. Another big unblocker for me was to work in comic book mode. Story skill is not writing skill and using drawings helps break the conflation natural writers make.
Wise words from Anne Lamott’s Bird by bird: shitty first drafts and short assignments. Highly recommend this book, for writing, and for life.
This book is super short and full of insight. At the very least it has helped me understand my blockages better. Highly recommend! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/187633.Art_and_Fear
Perhaps because you are trying to do two things at once. Separate the writing from the publishing — write in private for a bit until you feel less clumsy and self conscious about it. Write and wait three days before reading your words. Then you will see where there is value and where there is not.
My 2c on this. re dumb: there will always be someone ripe for your content. It's good to have people writing for different levels of experience. re bad: there's no better way to move past a bad take than the constructive feedback of our peers.
Try separating the fear of writing from the fear of publishing. Some prompts to encourage you to start (publishing not required): - distinguish your fear of writing vs your fear of publishing - why do you want to write? About what? For who? - describe something you know really well to me (or any arbitrary audience)
If you’re doing creative writing especially, a great technique is boredom. Let the monkey brain simmer down to give the creative subconscious a chance to peak through