Don’t Be Afraid To Write

Just a short message of inspiration for tonight: Don’t be afriad to write.

Earlier this week, I was talking to a good friend of mine. Said friend is fairly young, still in college, and extremely smart. He also runs with a “cool” crowd…people who don’t really understand geek-related activites. He used to write sci-fantasy when he was younger, but has since not picked up the pen, so to speak, mostly because he’s trying to it in more with his friends. IE, he wants to spend less time alone in his room doing things they don’t think are cool.

See, now this is scarey. Writing shouldn't be. Image: sxc.hu

I may have smacked him when he told me that.

Listen, lots of people have hang ups about writing. For him, it is worrying that his friends won’t approve. For you, it might be a fear of rejection or failure. Maybe you don’t put yourself first enough, never giving yourself time to write for personal projects and enjoyment for fear that others will think you’re selfish. Maybe you’re afraid that what you write is really bad. Fear can easily consume writers.

We all write for a living, but we’re doing this because we love it. At least, I hope that’s how you feel. But when’s the last time you wrote anything for yourself, rather than for a client?

In the end, I convinced my friend to sit down at his computer for at least two or three hours a week and just write. That’s a small enough chunk of time that he doesn’t even have to tell anyone what he’s doing. I want to encourage you to do the same. Cut out a chunk of time every week – or every day if you possibly can – to write something that is just for your personal enjoyment. You could be writing the next Harry Potter or Twilight. You could also be writing something that you’ll never let anyone else see.

It doesn’t matter. Just write. Stomp out any fear you feel and let the words flow.