What is the hardest thing to over come as a writer for you?

1. 66

   ThompsonPenposted 11 years ago

   What is the hardest thing to over come as a writer for you?
   
   I recently realized one of my biggest flaws as a writer, and I'm wondering if any one else has had a similar revelation!

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2. 70

   crazymom3posted 11 years ago

   The hardest thing for me is to actually sit down and do it.  Once I sit and get going then it's hard to stop.  Time is my hardest thing to overcome.  Making the time to sit down and write.

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      alancaster149posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Time is always the bugbear, whoever you are. I never get going before about 20:30 (GMT) as I've had things to do in the daytime. Business hours (shop times) are roughly what I keep for tasks I can't do in the evening. Then I get busy, after dinner.

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3. 84

   peachpurpleposted 11 years ago

   the hardest for me is to find time to draft out my article before publishing it. With daily household chores and kids running around the house , it is a RARE chance for me to have a cup of tea with a pencil and notebook in hand. Really RARE!!!

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      alancaster149posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thing is, you KNOW you have to do it - whenever you get the chance. That's half the battle, fore-arming yourself with a plan or plot. Keep a pad handy and jot down your ideas as you think of them, then you've got a 'skeleton' to work on.

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4. 66

   collegedadposted 11 years ago

   Proofreading is my bigges flaw. I really need to let my hubs sit for a few days so I have a fresh eye when I proof them!

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      alancaster149posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      There's ALWAYS something you miss, like the 't' at the end of 'biggest'. I've let a few through myself in RAVENFEAST and OVERTHROWN that I only realised I'd overlooked when I saw them in print (I'm not letting on, find them yourself)!

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      collegedadposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You caught the "t". I wondered if anyone would. LOL

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5. 78

   LisaKoskiposted 11 years ago

   I think my biggest flaw is that I don't always give myself enough credit for what I can do. It's a lot easier to focus on flaws and hold yourself back than it is to let yourself go, take risks, and reap the benefits from working at your very best.

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      alancaster149posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's common, probably as much at our level as 'up there' amongst the 'gods' such as Tennessee Williams, Mark Twain, C S Forrester. Once these writers cornered a niche for their writing they had to maintain standards. Tough stuff! Can you do that?

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   kellyteamposted 11 years ago

   I'm with crazymom3 time is my biggest challenge. I'm working to overcome that challenge because I want to write full time.
   
   I've been letting others know that I'm writing which is helping to motivate me to find the time. My next move is business cards and a blog.

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7. 76

   jlparkposted 11 years ago

   One I've overcome (most of the time) in my fiction writing is the fear of showing it to others.
   
   The other is: Time.

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      alancaster149posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Was your fear of being put down by your peers? They have been intimidated by the 'greats', not confident in their own skills and looked for perfection? We have to start somewhere. Ernest Hemingway wasn't born with his hands on a typewriter keyboard.

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      jlparkposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I think that was it. But it was also letting people into my head - I write in a way that I don't usually speak in, so it's letting people see what and the way I think...that was what was the most of the fear.

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   MichaelJohnMeleposted 11 years ago

   Me personally...it would be changing my writing style to fit the mood and/or task at hand. My writing style is very much off-the-wall, all over the place...with lots of humor and sarcasm. Whenever I try to be serious I always seem to find myself slowly creeping over to the dark side and throwing in humor...I can't help it, that writing style just comes so much easier.

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      alancaster149posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Start precis writing other people's work (like Reader's Digest). That might keep you on track. Give yourself a word limit. Set targets and reward yourself with a 'flash' of wit that might be appreciated where it appears - a 'counterpoint', maybe?

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9. 76

   alancaster149posted 11 years ago

   Bone idleness. It's a toss-up, sit watching 'the box' or tell a story of my own making with the period limitations of the 11th Century.
   I started this 'writing lark' because I felt I could describe something better - time-frame, background knowledge, vocabulary - than a certain acknowledged writer of historical fiction. That's what started me off in creating the Dane Ivar, kinsman of King Harold II in "RAVENFEAST".
   The rest, as they say, is history.

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