Stress and writing anxiety are experienced by all writers at some point. You would start writing a blog or a new chapter of your book, and suddenly, you feel everything is just too much to handle. You begin to panic, thinking nothing is going to work out. Getting into your creative zone becomes nearly impossible.
The causes of writing anxiety are many. Here are just a few: Inexperience with the type of writing task. Previous negative experiences with writing (e.g. someone, maybe a teacher, has given you negative feedback or said negative things about your writing)
It's hard because doing it well matters, because stories matter, and the details matter, and there are often a lot of details. Sometimes they take years to organize. The feelings and ideas and memories that we put into the writing also matter, and are layered, and we can't force an understanding of them.
These are often deeper issues, arising from our life beyond the page. They might include illness (our own or someone else's), exhaustion, stress, fear or other unresolved emotions, burnout, or any other number of things. Sometimes the cause seems to be something as simple (and vague) as a mood.
Writers had a higher risk of anxiety and bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, unipolar depression, and substance abuse, and were almost twice as likely as the general population to kill themselves. Dancers and photographers were also more likely to have bipolar disorder.
Many writers have the tendency to procrastinate and overthink every detail of their article. They shy away from doing the actual work for longer than is necessary. Don't wait until you have that perfect idea before you write and publish.
The takeaway for all writers is that we can improve, and we are not bound by an inborn, set level of writing talent. Good writers are not born. They are learned.
And there's yet another reason that mental work is just as taxing as the physical stuff. It's shockingly simple: Our brains use a disproportionate amount of oxygen. They require about 20 percent of the body's total demand.
Students with ADHD often have difficulties with writing, especially in terms of spelling. The most common issues are reversing or omitting letters, words, or phrases.
Having a high IQ won't make you a good writer. It may be a good advantage, but it is the fine balance between intelligence and learning that can give you the craft to form a good poem or pen a beautiful story. Writing is about the ability to express the thoughts, feelings, and ideas that are in your head.
There are many ways to earn a living as a writer. It's not always easy--and it takes time and skill to get there--but it's definitely possible. If you're looking to get paid to write, these strategies can help you break into the field and work your way up to higher paying opportunities.
The hardest part of being a writer (IMHO) is not coming up with ideas, or hitting your word count, or breathing life into your characters. It's trusting yourself. Believing in yourself. Being yourself, and being okay with that.
Studies of artists and writers collated in Scientific American confirm that artists and writers are up to 20 times more likely to suffer from bipolar disorder (also called manic depressive illness) and 10 times more likely to suffer from depression.
Having some level of anxiety associated with writing is normal, and often a sign that a writer cares about doing well. If this anxiety motivates the writer to devote thought and effort to their writing, this stress-induced attitude and mindset can have a certain positive value.
Writing is mentally exhausting, and if you work for long stretches of time, it can be physically exhausting too. This is where writer burnout comes into play.
Writers are prone to procrastination because the process of writing is hard – technically and emotionally. It can be a bruising experience. Writing can dent your self-confidence, it can be overwhelming and it can make you question your own sanity.
Writer's burnout is a state of exhaustion that makes you unwilling and unable to do what you love best and can lead to you questioning your entire identity as a creative. This is not the same as writer's block, which is characterised as an inability to write.
This study of professionally published novelists found the average age of first publication to be 36 years. Given that many novels take many years to perfect, it stands to reason that late twenties, early thirties are prime time for putting in those writing hours.
The brain and writing
German researchers observed scans of writers writing their stories and found that a network of brain regions work in unison to create fiction stories (1). The brain activity of regular writers was similar to that of people skilled in complex actions such as musicians or athletes.
Intuitive personality types (58% agreeing) were by far the most likely to harbor dreams and ambitions of writing a book, agreeing at a rate 24% higher than their Observant counterparts.
More often than not, writing is an activity that requires solitude, which is why some of the world's best writers are also introverts. As famous YA author John Green once said, “Writing is something you do alone.
It's a fact that many writers are also HSP or highly sensitive people. Stephanie Chandler says in the article Why Highly Sensitive People Make Great Writers by Kate Frank: “The trait of sensitivity is about being observant and aware of the details of events and situations.