Via PaperFury || 4 Writer Struggles We All Have (But Don't Admit)

 disclaimer: all four points are literally just yoinked off of cait drews // paperfury, but i had to share because they are #legit. enjoy.
We all have massive struggles with the writing gig.  It's hard.  Face it.  We love it, but yeah, it can be grueling to drag decent prose, stimulating plots, + great characters out of our heads.  Yet FOR ALL THAT, there are some aspects of writing that we all share & yet don't get talked about but NEVER FEAR, Cait Drews did & I'm following suit.  Because.  It's real.

THE FOUR HORSEMAN OF THE WRITERPOCALYPSE

1.  THE MY-PROJECT-IS-FINISHED DEPRESSIVE SLUMP
Thankfully, yeah, I have basically a whole lifetime's worth of work ahead of me, but it wasn't always this way & I am NO stranger to this colossal fear.  You finally slog through your magnum opus.  Boom.  Last page.  The end.  Phew.

...now what.

NOW WHAT.  This was your LIFE.  You live + breathe your writing.  & it's DONE.  WAH.  Stages of grief one two three go! What do you do with yourself?  Will you ever write again?? Are you left to stumble about in a battered daze of literary Stockholm syndrome??
 
2.  YOU FEEL LIKE YOU'RE WRITING THINGS THAT ARE TOO SIMILAR
HELLO, YOU OLD FRIEND OF A MIDNIGHT TERROR, YOU.  What if, years from now, people look back over my stories & say, "Eeyep, she was a hack.  Same ol' characters with different names.  Same ol' stories.  Her tone never changes.  Never shifts to accommodate the new plot.  She's a one-trick pony, that's for sure."

i don't wanna be a one-trick pony-y-y-y-y-y!  
3. READING AN ALREADY-PUBLISHED WORK THAT IS ALARMINGLY SIMILAR TO YOUR OWN NOT-PUBLISHED WORK
I really, really, really, REALLY hate this, you guys.  R E A L L Y.  Let me just go on record + say

i read almost NO contemporary fiction, okay??
so how am I supposed to know what's trending these days??  Spoiler: I DON'T.  So it's a real suckerpunch in the chatterbox when I've been doolallying along for awhile with a story, only to discover that someone has ALREADY PUBLISHED A NOVEL WITH A MARKED ASPECT JUST LIKE MINE.

I'M LOOKING AT YOU, DAENERYS
Yes, okay, there are lots of cool things that we can all share (dragons, sarcasm, archaic description), sure.  But this kind of thing makes it look like I'm a hack (see note above) & that I stole another author's idea, which is a thing that happens but I DON'T DO IT.  IT'S NOT OKAY.*

I'M HERE TO TELL YOU THAT I'M NOT A BOOK THIEF
wait that's also a book
*this post doesn't count because i tell you who came up with the idea, right...?


4.  WRITING OUTSIDE YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
I think I must be living proof that you can write outside your experience & possibly should write outside your experience, because I have tried writing contemporary fiction & it sTINKS.  So in light of that fact, I really do have to write stuff I've never experienced.

especially since i'm not a reenactor + i really love modern amenities

THINGS I AM NOT QUALIFIED TO WRITE ABOUT, BUT DO ANYWAY SO HELP ME

wearing armour // using weapons (which are heavy + require a lot of strength to use)loss of loved ones (waaaah)england (i've only been to scotland)the medieval era (my time-travel machine is broken)magic (still can't do this for some reason??)coffee (i've never been to central/south america + coffee makes me bloat)crinoline (i have petticoats! does that count??)strategy in warfare (use dynamite. saves time.)being tall (>_<)humour (#dadjokes)

There you have it: four basic software worries that come complementary with the whole writer package.  Did you get anything else with your order?  Please share! 

special thanks to cait, who has no idea i've yoinked her post but i'm telling you so it's not stealing XD

thanks for reading! until next time!xoxo, jenny

{all images via pinterest}