What is the biggest challenge you face as a writer?

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  1. vocalcoach profile image94
    vocalcoachposted 9 years ago

    I'd love to know your answer to this question. And I'm not speaking of answers such as, "Finding more time to write."  Let me help you out by listing a few of my own challenges.  You can select one of these or add your own.  Thanks for sharing.  - smile

    A.  Finding a great title.
    B.  Coming up with original ideas for a hub.
    C.  Grammar, punctuation and spelling.
    D.  Using key words.
    E.  Finding my niche.
    F.  Revising/editing my material.
    G   Creating a unique style.
    H.  Writing a stellar hub.

    1. peachpurple profile image81
      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      i love to write but never excess 1000 words for green topics. If I write recipes, always, end up 1000 words. How do I know what are the keywords that attract people to my hubs? My traffic and huscore are low, that is the biggest challenge I face everyday. 53-66 average

      1. vocalcoach profile image94
        vocalcoachposted 9 years agoin reply to this

        Deleted

        1. colorfulone profile image78
          colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Thank you for giving that link. That is helpful!

    2. ChitrangadaSharan profile image92
      ChitrangadaSharanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Finding the right key words, which attract more traffic!

    3. lisavanvorst profile image64
      lisavanvorstposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      For me it is finding the quiet time to write. I am so busy both at work and home and cannot write with televisions going, phones ringing etc. Sometimes things come to me in my sleep, but only bits and pieces. I really need solitude to do my writing. This is not always easy.

    4. NateB11 profile image89
      NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      A,D and E, which are SEO-related. SEO's been my greatest challenge, so I work hard at it; to me, without knowing how to get traffic, there's no point in writing online. Also, G. I think it's important to find your "voice". It makes it easier for the reader to read your work.

    5. paradigmsearch profile image60
      paradigmsearchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Sanity.

      1. vocalcoach profile image94
        vocalcoachposted 9 years agoin reply to this

        smile

    6. murrayslikeitnow profile image60
      murrayslikeitnowposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I would say come up with the first word to say or the title or something to talk about

    7. Emmaback profile image61
      Emmabackposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      A - finding a great title...

      1. vocalcoach profile image94
        vocalcoachposted 9 years agoin reply to this

        You and me both!  My creative juices dry up when it comes to the title.

    8. Say Yes To Life profile image78
      Say Yes To Lifeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      For me, it's choosing keywords and promotion.  Also, writing a brief bio and introduction!

      1. vocalcoach profile image94
        vocalcoachposted 9 years agoin reply to this

        Thank you.  Keywords are vital when it comes to getting your hub read.  If you type "about keywords" in your browser you will find plenty of information on how to use them.

        1. Say Yes To Life profile image78
          Say Yes To Lifeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks for the tip!

    9. neosurk profile image88
      neosurkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Netflix

      1. vocalcoach profile image94
        vocalcoachposted 9 years agoin reply to this

        Hee, hee.  Try using a little self-control.  smile

  2. Cardisa profile image89
    Cardisaposted 9 years ago

    My biggest challenges as a writer has nothing to do with writing articles but what i really love, fiction. These challenges include:

    (1) Completing a story I started
    (2) Focusing on my own work instead of other things around me
    (3) Finding the courage to just finish my novel(s) and have it/them published

  3. sunilkunnoth2012 profile image61
    sunilkunnoth2012posted 9 years ago

    Gaining good traffic and earning some decent money are really a challenge here.  We need to improve our quality rather than quantity.  I am trying hard to diversify my topics, polish my writing skill and provide more information to the readers.  Now all my 119 articles are featured, but may at any time lose that 'virginity'.  So I need to keep a strict tab on my article and modify occasionally.  SEO is another field, where I do bad and hence I need to learn a lot about it. I also love to maintain my Author score between a range of 86-90.  My Commenter Level has dropped from VI  to V. I wish to make it VII soon.  My other concern is gaining a decent followership  and the immediate goal is 300. I hope I can achieve it all within six months time.l

  4. aesta1 profile image92
    aesta1posted 9 years ago

    Being consistent in my effort to keep writing. I sometimes get lazy weeks. I just need to discipline myself.

  5. janshares profile image92
    jansharesposted 9 years ago

    None of the above. My problems are:

    1. Online writing savvy (don't know enough to really understand the industry)
    2. Discipline and Focus (not realizing what doing this really entails; it's a full-time endeavor to do it right)

  6. tillsontitan profile image84
    tillsontitanposted 9 years ago

    Keeping my writing fresh and interesting.  I know what's interesting to me might not be to others so it's a challenge to find a universal appeal and still make it worth reading.

  7. cfin profile image65
    cfinposted 9 years ago

    Lack of Time to write

    and

    The abundance of bad writers out there who ruin sites like this with spam.

    and

    The inability to make writing more than a hobby.

  8. sara0129 profile image67
    sara0129posted 9 years ago

    B, G, and H are my challenges

  9. janderson99 profile image54
    janderson99posted 9 years ago

    Traffic, Traffic, Traffic - Being seen and noticed, hopefully appreciated.

  10. clivewilliams profile image72
    clivewilliamsposted 9 years ago

    I. Traffic
    J. Money

    You love when you get lost of traffic, that means your work is being read. You love to get paid for the hard work you put out. Nether flows my way.:-(

  11. jjheathcoat profile image76
    jjheathcoatposted 9 years ago

    Not being too hard on myself. I've always been overly self-judgmental. I can't count how many times I've deleted entire novels, blogs, etc because I get bit by the "not good enough" bug. I've felt it on some Hubs too, but haven't gone that far yet. I'm very thankful that all of my Hubs have reached "featured" status. It's a kind reassurance that my doubts are mostly in my head.

  12. ijdmtoy profile image40
    ijdmtoyposted 9 years ago

    Sometimes it's hard to complete a work. There's just so many ideas buzzing around and inspiration everywhere.

  13. Chriswillman90 profile image91
    Chriswillman90posted 9 years ago

    For me it's those dreaded writer's blocks when there's nothing there. Sometimes I have an idea and I start writing about it but then I read it and it doesn't sound right. I've never written a novel but kudos to those authors who are able to push through their creative struggles and persevere. I think writing a novel is one of the most mentally toughest jobs in the world.

  14. Sed-me profile image80
    Sed-meposted 9 years ago

    Coming to the point where I imagine nothing will ever come of my efforts and I stop. I think like many, writing is not the problem, it's 'what am I going to do with this when Im done, and will anyone be interested?'

  15. Niko Linni profile image79
    Niko Linniposted 9 years ago

    Letting go of the thought that I'm a drop in the bucket. It's a reality yes, but sometimes I get discouraged when I think too much on that, as the fear of never getting any real attention or traffic tends to set in not long after encountering those thoughts. Also the fear of thinking I'm not "Unique enough", especially after how sites hammer it in that being different and unique with how you say and present things is a must.

  16. profile image57
    going2changeposted 9 years ago

    Options A and B are surely the greatest challenges I face every time I write, whether it is my hub or any other piece of writing I do.

  17. RanaKm profile image44
    RanaKmposted 9 years ago

    One word: Traffic.... Haha :p

    1. vocalcoach profile image94
      vocalcoachposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Traffic is the big one!  The learning center has good suggestions on this.

  18. profile image0
    ShirleyJCJohnsonposted 9 years ago

    My biggest challenge is my feeling of inadequacy.  "Is what I write worth someone else' time?"  "Is what I write going to be useful for someone else?"  Etc., etc., etc.

  19. Lee Hansen profile image77
    Lee Hansenposted 9 years ago

    My biggest challenge is editing - I always write too much, so I need to chop it down without losing content and quality.

  20. Emese Fromm profile image88
    Emese Frommposted 9 years ago

    My biggest challenge is finishing an article (or anything else I write). I can't seem to stop once I start and have trouble finding the right place to stop. Another one is run-on sentences.  For online writing and specifically hub pages I still need to learn about SEO and other issues related to traffic.

  21. profile image49
    vishal17saniyarposted 9 years ago

    collective writing is one of the challenge i have faced..

  22. Stacie L profile image87
    Stacie Lposted 9 years ago

    Starting and ending.....big_smile

    1. vocalcoach profile image94
      vocalcoachposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Ha Ha!

  23. pulse22 profile image67
    pulse22posted 9 years ago

    Mind Block. I know what to write but I cannot write. My mind just remains blocked with a cloud of ideas.

  24. Dana Tate profile image82
    Dana Tateposted 9 years ago

    Maintaining the inspiration to write. Also keywords to get noticed by google more.

  25. profile image57
    going2changeposted 9 years ago

    ShirelyJCJohnson and Lee Hansen, you got me there..They are the most common challenges I believe. And RanaKm big_smile that's the most important part for sure.

  26. conradofontanilla profile image66
    conradofontanillaposted 9 years ago

    The challenge is how to make my message easy to understand, presentable and acceptable.

  27. Hicks Days profile image57
    Hicks Daysposted 9 years ago

    for me, i lack on motivation to write. I mean, i guess i'm blessed with a little flexible mind. Able to think a scene as quick as 123. My main problem is, once i tried to write it down, my mind will suddenly go numb and will shift into some things that eventually will steal all my concentration on what i am writing to. I guess i am still a rookie in writing ;p

  28. SheneishaDanielle profile image59
    SheneishaDanielleposted 9 years ago

    For me is getting my writing at there for people to see. when I  feel like my writing isn't good enough i become disheartened.It gets harder for me to get people to read my work

  29. murrayslikeitnow profile image60
    murrayslikeitnowposted 9 years ago

    Yeah some good deals going on here hope everybody out there having fun going to go do a lot of answers are coming forth twice to question everything went hope to see you so have a great day

  30. chef-de-jour profile image96
    chef-de-jourposted 9 years ago

    I find online writing a distinct genre and I am constantly challenged by many of the points you list. There are several inner battles going on when I try to compose a hub. Yes, I want it to be successful and garner some views but to do that I must wrestle with the notion of SEO, page competition and strange concepts such as no follow links!!
    There's a whole new language to learn which is both fascinating and frustrating but if you push me I'd say the biggest challenge is to avoid lethal compromise - a sort of style versus substance issue.

  31. cam8510 profile image93
    cam8510posted 9 years ago

    I suppose finding my niche.  My index of hubs probably makes that point.  But it's more than that.  Who am I as a writer?   What are my goals.  I love writing short fiction,  but those stories won't make me any money.   Is money what I want out of my writing?   These are the questions I ask myself.   

    Oh, and one more thing.   My titles suck.

  32. lbrummer profile image95
    lbrummerposted 9 years ago

    I think my biggest concern is knowing when, and if, I should publish a new hub or edit an old one.  I know that we aren't supposed to be concerned about our Hubber score, but I just did considerable editing on a couple of my top articles, and my score went down to 89.  Knowing that 85 is the magic number makes me worry that the more I edit, the faster my score will descend. And I don't want to get below the 85 number.  Does anyone know how many articles we can safely edit in one day?  I have a couple of articles ready to publish, but I afraid to do it now.

    1. Marisa Wright profile image87
      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Why is 85 a magic number?   Unless you are writing to promote other sites, it really doesn't matter to you.   All that '85' does is make links IN your Hubs "no follow".  If you were trying to give those sites backlinks, then that's a problem.  If you weren't, then it doesn't affect you.

      1. lbrummer profile image95
        lbrummerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

        Thanks, Marisa, for answering my concerns.  I guess I'll just go back to completely ignoring the hub and hubber scores and just edit what needs editing and publishing new hubs. I thought I read some time ago about how many edits we could do a day, but I can't find that information back.  Since I have a lot of hubs that I'd like to change the size of the first photo, and then make any other edits necessary on that hub, I'm wondering if I can only do a couple of them a day.  If that is true, my editing will take about a year to just change the first photos.   I'd appreciate your thoughts.

  33. MPG Narratives profile image61
    MPG Narrativesposted 9 years ago

    Sorting out which are my best ideas. My brain seems to have an endless stream of story and writing ideas but I don't have time to write all of them. My problem is I enjoy the process of writing more than any other part. All I want to do is write and the other stuff - SEO, keywords, photos, formatting - it all just gets in the way of writing. Hubpages does help with a lot of the technical stuff I'm not good at and that is one of the main reasons I write on this site, I just wish I could work out what people want to read. I guess that's the SEO and keyword part isn't it?

    1. Organised Kaos profile image87
      Organised Kaosposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Z - Becoming obsessed with my work and editing and re-editing and then doing it again. Finding a typo and having to now edit again.

      Obsessive much! Gahhh

  34. TolovajWordsmith profile image89
    TolovajWordsmithposted 9 years ago

    Persistence:)

  35. profile image53
    Acacia56posted 9 years ago

    Thanks for the sharing, But its take long time to write. because we have to think .. its very time consuming...

  36. Katelyn Weel profile image92
    Katelyn Weelposted 9 years ago

    I find it very difficult to find topics to write about that I am genuinely interested in, that would be interesting to many people, AND that have not already been beaten to death by many other writers out there. These days it seems like everything has been thoroughly covered by someone else.. it's hard not to be discouraged by that.

  37. Deepika tripathi profile image41
    Deepika tripathiposted 9 years ago

    Finding new key words and fresh content.

  38. Claire Anderson profile image60
    Claire Andersonposted 9 years ago

    Well I love writing and believe that writing is my strength. So, No, I don't find anything difficult while writing. But obviously it comes down to your train of thoughts at a certain point in time. Sometimes, your ideas flow is spectacular and sometimes its' so disrupted that you say to yourself, "I can't do this anymore". But obviously when sit down again with a fresher mind, your flow of thoughts gets back on track.

  39. Sunayani12 profile image61
    Sunayani12posted 9 years ago

    Mental blocks-- they happen even while writing blogs.. !

  40. wordswithlove profile image65
    wordswithloveposted 9 years ago

    I think my biggest challenge sometimes is writing not so much what I really want to or am driven to, but forcing myself to think of the marketability of my writing. It tends to hold me back from expressing myself truly and that can be an obstacle to my creativity.

  41. tlcs profile image63
    tlcsposted 9 years ago

    Starting a hub and not finishing it the same day, I find that I go to bed in the evening and can't stop thinking about what I would like to include and when I wake up in the morning (after hours of pondering) I have completely forgotten what I wanted to include!

  42. lisavanvorst profile image64
    lisavanvorstposted 9 years ago

    Writers block. Lately I just have not been into writing, maybe it is because I am so busy. Next week I am on vacation from work and will plan to write some new hubs.

  43. profile image0
    Laurie Viposted 9 years ago

    For me, it's finding things to write about. I try to write one a week, but my 12 hour work schedule makes it difficult. The weather has been so bad this winter that I haven't been able to do some of the hubs that I have planned so coming up with something else is challenging.

  44. chika-nicholas profile image66
    chika-nicholasposted 9 years ago

    Financial independence via my talent would be one of them.
    I do look forward to the era that writers get paid like movie actors and musicians.

    1. Enelle Lamb profile image73
      Enelle Lambposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Sign me up for that!

  45. ankush0809 profile image59
    ankush0809posted 8 years ago

    B : finding the unique content. but i truly enjoy after getting smile

  46. Eldon Arsenaux profile image61
    Eldon Arsenauxposted 8 years ago

    Honesty in voice.

  47. Sherry Hewins profile image91
    Sherry Hewinsposted 8 years ago

    For me, it's finding an audience that recognizes my brilliance. After three years here, you'd think they'd be beating a path to my door.

  48. Enelle Lamb profile image73
    Enelle Lambposted 8 years ago

    Finding evergreen topics has to be my hardest problem. I gave up on keywords - it was confusing and time eating!

  49. passionatelearnr profile image85
    passionatelearnrposted 8 years ago

    keyword searching.finding topics that are highly searched but are less competitive.

 
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