Fears Hold Me Back as a Writer

I am participating in the Blog Carnival at Write Tribe with the prompt about What would you do if you weren't afraid? http://everydaygyaan.com/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-not-afraid/

I’ve spent a fortune on courses and conferences over the years. I've written loads of stories and have a few novels gathering dust in drawers or cluttering up my laptop. I've even had a few things published. You’d think that showed I was a real writer, wouldn’t you?

And yet, I still don’t take myself seriously enough. I act like I’m playing at this writing game and I often procrastinate to avoid getting going on writing project. Why is that?

My two fears of failure and rejection tend to hold me back from pursuing writing more seriously.

Fear of failure is a biggie with me. I often put off or even avoid writing, convinced that it will be too hard and I’ll just write garbage and fail anyhow. I have a notorious Inner Critic or Mr. I.C. as I affectionately call him. He perches on my shoulder and constantly tells me that my work is not good enough. He even tells me that I’m not good enough. I sure wish he’d go away.

I do think that my fear of rejection is legitimate. I’ve had lots of work rejected over the years. It’s all part of the process. It is very hard to get work accepted, even more so these days with so many people competing for less and less opportunities.

I fear that I don’t have the right credentials and that no one will take me seriously anyhow. I don’t have a fancy degree from a fancy university. Surely I’ll be rejected and laughed at. Credentials are what it takes to be a real writer, aren’t they?

I love writing as it’s part of me and I need to express my creativity. I’ve always written in diaries to express myself and make sense of my feelings about things. These days my blog and Facebook have become like my online diaries. I also enjoy sharing and supporting others. I am so grateful for the Internet for bringing me closer with friends around the world.  

I AM A WRITER even without a fancy writing degree. Now to let go of my fears of failure and rejection and boot Mr. IC out so I can prove it.