Why We Cease Writing: three Lies Writers Should Cease Believing
How many articles, blogs, or books have you not written? Or have you ever started one of these projects and then stalled hard? Are you at a loss as to why you stopped writing?
Eighty percent of the time writers stop writing is due to three lies they tell themselves.
Once you know what that lie is, you will find that they are creeping into your writing process. This is the first step in preventing them from convincing you to stop writing.
This post is a guest post by bestseller Paul Angone:
Why do we stop writing (and how do we move on)
Regardless of how successful someone is, we have all been tempted to stop doing what we set out to do.
I know I did, and because of that, I started to wonder why I sometimes feel like I want to stop writing.
Stephen Pressfield called this force "Resistance" in his infamous book The War of Art. I call it "The Liar".
Whenever you are doing important work, and especially if you are vulnerable to your words, the liar will try to stop you. Every time.
I'm about to get my fourth published book, entitled 25 Reads Twentysomethings Need to Stop Believing, and yet as I write about the lies I am still fighting the liar who tries to stop me on every page.
Most of the time, these three lies try to stop you from writing, which of course prevents you from becoming a successful writer. But completing your book is a big part of what writing is about!
Here are some of the lies that we, as writers and creators, need to recognize in order for us to do the work we need to do.
3 lies that keep you from writing
Writing is hard work, but everyone has something important to say and anyone can finish a written assignment. That is, when they learn to recognize these three lies and then rule them out.
1. It has to be perfect
Have you ever heard of musicians like Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison? How about Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley? Do you know what they all have in common?
Sam Phillips. Or the same man who ran a small independent record label out of a hole in the wall in Memphis, Tennessee, discovered them all.
As a huge Johnny Cash fan, I loved learning about this legendary producer from The Man Who Invented Rock N Roll by Peter Guralnick.
What was one of Sam Phillips' secrets to discovering some of the most famous artists of the century? He wasn't looking for perfection. He actually thought that perfection held people back.
"Perfect? That's the devil. You should get the damn thing out of the language of mankind." – Sam Phillips
Elvis Pressley and Johnny Cash weren't perfect musicians. Far from it. When Johnny Cash walked in with his group of mechanics, they could barely get through a song. But when I talk about this in more detail in my new book, 25 Lies Twentysomethings Must Stop Believing:
Sam Phillips would conduct the recording sessions completely out of control. He didn't want it to be forced. He wanted the musicians to keep trying, reaching further, stretching beyond their own insecurities and fears holding them back, and just singing as only they could.
Sam's motto in life and what he was looking for in artists was "perfect imperfection".
He wasn't looking for a polished musician who sounded like everyone else. He was looking for the raw and the original. Something that is hard to come by when we strive to be perfect. If you've ever seen the movie Walk the Line, there is a great scene where Sam Philips begs Johnny Cash to sing an imperfect song that will truly "save people".
While I subconsciously think that we know that "it has to be perfect" is a lie, how often do we stop writing because something is not working right? It's clunky. We can't find the right words. So instead of pushing it through and finishing it, we stop.
These are the moments when we have to keep writing most of the time.
If we keep writing, we might reach a peak of our breakthrough. We could actually write the masterpiece we wanted to produce!
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At the exact moment when we want to give up, we have to keep writing. It is in these moments that we cannot allow lies like perfectionism to stop finishing our books.
When Elvis stopped trying to be perfect in his first recording session and at three in the morning he started playing around with a song because he had nothing left to lose. And it was at that very moment that he stumbled upon something that would take his music career to the stratosphere in a few months.
Sam Phillips saw a total imperfection in Elvis and knew that he was witness to a truly unique person.
Striving for perfection in creating is a perfect way to never create anything.
So leave the perfectionism behind and instead focus on finishing what you write.
2. I am a failure
Do you remember Bob Ross, the famous Afro-sports art teacher at PBS, whose TV show "Joy of Painting" ran for a whopping thirty-one seasons?
I loved learning more about Bob's life and telling his story in Lie # 1 of my new book under the lie "Success Just Happens".
I'm not going to go into all the details of Bob's inspirational journey to become the most popular art teacher of the art era, but I will share that for years Bob felt like a failed art teacher.
In fact, he was so broke that he decided to save money on haircuts by making his hair permeable and letting it grow back. So it turned out that his famous Afro was one of his first "happy little accidents".
But what really surprised me about Bob Ross, but still made sense, and the magical painting he would complete in each episode is that he had already spent months working on this exact painting.
That's right, but every episode in which Bob was completing an image in real time was referring to the exact off-screen image that he had been perfecting for weeks and months. I address this idea in my book:
“The master mage is the least magical person in the room. What we consider magic are the years and years that someone has carefully perfected their craft. The wizard is probably just the hardest working person in the room and has learned best by failing to perfect a craft that looks flawless. “- 25 Lies Twenty years must stop believing
As a writer, the idea that "I am a failure" is waiting to be attacked at the first sign of a bad review or other letter of rejection. Believe me i know I spent about eight years rewriting and editing only to receive the great privilege of getting rejected over and over again.
Here's the trick to dodging Lie # 2: When a book is published, it doesn't mean that there are no new rounds of failure on the horizon.
What I didn't realize when that lie got in my way was that failure didn't ruin my story. Failure helped me write.
Each rejection letter challenged me to improve my craft. Each rejection brought me closer to the story I really needed to tell.
I learned how to create magic, even if the process didn't feel in the least magical.
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Failure will not ruin your story. Indeed, one mistake will help you write and exit.
3. I should stop
So many times I've been so close to just throwing in the towel and doing a "normal" job again. In this case, I keep asking myself a question. It's the one question that kept me going:
"Who can I not help if I give up now?"
When all the visions of New York Times bestsellers and interviews with Conan O'Brien go away, it's this question that keeps me going.
I know what to write about what is important. I know deep down that the people out there will need my books – even if I can't convince a publisher right now.
But now that people have shared pictures of themselves when they discovered my book in a Target store, or when I've connected with hundreds of amazing readers in Iran who tell me how my book changed their lives , I am grateful that I finished this book. I am grateful that I finished all of my books.
Because people need our stories.
This is what keeps me going and what gives me the chills. This is my reason not to stop.
And I bet it'll keep you going too.
“Maybe your dream isn't going to the grave right now. Maybe it will be planted. The bigger the dream, the bigger the effect, the deeper your roots need to go. “- 25 Lies Twenty years must stop believing
In five years, someone could be standing on a ledge and your work could be exactly the truth they need. They need you to hold on. You have to shut the mouth of the liar who is trying to stop you from writing.
Instead, keep writing truthfully.
P.S.
If you need a little more encouragement as you keep writing (and defeating those three lies!), Don't forget to read Paul's new book: 25 Lies Twenty Years Must Stop Believing.
Whether you are 20 or 30 years old or want to understand and support them better, read the chapters of Paul's books or order his latest book from his website AllGroanUp.com.
Why you have to keep writing
These three lies will come close to you at inopportune times and in unexpected places. Discouragement is all too familiar at some point in the writing process.
But the people out there need you to keep writing. Ask yourself, "If I give up now, who can I help?"
Then dig yourself deep and listen to the truth.
We need your voice.
Keep writing.
What stopped you from writing your book? Let us know in the comments.
WORK OUT
Pick one of these three lies that are stopping you from writing your book. Then imagine a reader who needs you badly to finish your book. Have you?
Now spend fifteen minutes writing a scene in which your book saves their life, or a journal of the conversation you had with that person after they told you these magical words, “Your book changed my life . "
When you're done, do let us know in the comments section and let us know the book you're writing.
Guest blogger
