Step one.

What’s the hardest part of writing?

Getting started. Every day, every time.

Why? Why does it have to be so hard to get started? If I want to treat my writing like a job and understand that if I don’t show up each day, don’t put in the pages, I can’t get paid.   Just like if a plumber who is starting her own plumbing business doesn’t show up to the jobs she’s booked or advertise her plumbing business to attract new jobs, she won’t eventually get paid.

But is the plumber scared to start? Dreading it, even? Does she walk around said plumbing challenge and debate and consider other things she could do instead? Not being a plumber, or knowing any new plumbers, I don’t have an answer for this.

But for this new writer, the debate, the dread, the avoidance is all too real. WHY???

The answer is not one I’m proud to admit. But here I am. Admitting….it’s FEAR.

Fear of what? Electric shock from the computer? No. It’s fear of failure, fear of making a fool of myself, fear of wasting my time. Fear of not following through. Fear of sucking.

A favorite and telling quote from Anne Tyler:

“If I waited till I felt like writing, I’d never write at all.”

So true. It reminds me of running. I’d been dabbling with running for years, but never got brave about it. And then I decided I’d challenge myself and train and run a half marathon. I never really enjoyed the runs, but I loved having run. Good enough reason to run, no? The satisfaction of having done it, of having followed through works for me.

So, Fear acknowledged. Dread, too. But to get to the other side, what helps? Here’s what I’m doing today. And, on the days when I feel best at the end of my writing time, it’s what’s usually has been the trick.

Step one. Sit down.

Step two. Stay there. Don’t get more coffee or change the laundry. Laundry is the devil. It leads to the dishwasher.

Step three. Shut every other thing down. No email. No internet (but I might have to research, you tell yourself. Lies. Research later. Use the Freedom app. It’s sad, like an adult time-out. But, it works.

Step four. Set a timer. Not for five hours. For a period of time that will get you going, is realistic, and won’t kill you. Try for thirty minutes.

Step five. Open your document. Then open another. Document 2 is your Braindump page. Go back to your actual document and start. As stressors, to do lists, concerns, worries, general life come in, dump them on Doc 2. Get them out and written down. Go back to actual writing on Doc 1. Soon, the crap will subside because it’s written down and you can return later, although most of the crap do not actually need attention. The Braindump only takes a few initial minutes most days, and you’ll find your attention staying on Doc 1, your actual work.

Step five. Plan ahead. When I leave my writing for the day, I always leave myself a note of what to do next. And I leave each day with more to do, so starting the next day, after the fear dance, of course, is that much easier.

I’m fearing this blog, too. I’m behind schedule, and don’t have much time to edit or question whether I want to put this out there. But that’s the beauty of the blog. It forces the writing on a timeline and forces me to face the fear and push publish. It’s a mini exercise. And this morning, I sat down. I stayed. I wrote. And now I’m going to write a little more.

What solutions do you have for facing the fear?