Being a writer is never a smooth ride—there are advantages and disadvantages. Come to think of it, Don’t you think anything, no matter how fun it may be without challenges, can be so dull? The writer’s challenges are existent, and you don’t have to doubt that.
And truth be told, some writer’s challenges can be so uncool, making us less motivated to forge ahead, which can be grueling for our future hustles and effort. You need not worry when it comes to this. This is why it is outright suitable to enlist the help of others when needed.
Below are some of the writer’s challenges that most of us face and how to overcome them;
Find out 15 Writer’s Challenges and How to Overcome them
1. That Wrong Beginning
Being introduced to the writing block can be pretty challenging and was challenging for every one of us. And this applies to almost anything that has been acclaimed to be a job in its own right.
And you may not have all the ideas of creativity springing in your memory at once, or just by the grasp of the pen in one sitting, but once you’re motivated or inspired by someone’s write-up or writing style, then you have a good standing to begin yours.
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So, if you’re the kind that sits all day on the sofa and complain, “Well, writing ain’t for me, I’m not that good in making words up,” then you better do something about it.
In essence, finding that inspiration that piques our interest is all that counts in this moment of dabbling goals and aspirations.
2. Unpleasing Situations
Now, you’re finally ready to jot down your ideas on paper, then we have all the rowdiness around you, which cannot make you think straight. This is one of the solid writer’s challenges that most of us face all the time. Who wants to work in an environment with loud noises and talks outside that seem like pom-poms?
Well, the only way to escape all these distractions is to set some boundaries when it concerns you. Make sure you select a time during the day when you shouldn’t and wouldn’t be disturbed.
For me, I solve this by finding a quiet room where I know I’ll have all the peace and tranquility I can get—a place of fewer distractions.
Perhaps you’re a poet; there are no two ways to it; you cannot be good in that art if you’re constantly distracted by the unwholesome noises which seek your attention.
So, if you don’t have a quiet room that sustains the flow of ideas, why not head to a writing retreat? These are very helpful and coordinated at times.
3. Writer’s Block
This is simply feeling stuck or out of place. In this case, you don’t know what to write, and you’re not in the mood, and you have no idea when you’ll ever be in the mood.
It can be pretty uncool when it comes to writer’s block, especially if it isn’t resolved quickly.
Here are some quick solutions to fix this;
- Don’t just write it down. Most times, we need a break.
- Make sure to take some rest. Do make sure you take good sleep.
- Do not overstress yourself.
- Make sure to read books. Reading draws the required information.
- Exercise often.
4. A lack of self-confidence
This is the most problematic writer’s challenge that plagues all writers. It doesn’t matter in a million ways how skilled you are or how much of a grey-haired you are in this expertise. You cannot and would never get far if you’re not confident in what you have to offer.
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It isn’t about knowing that you know stuff pretty well or being laid down arrogant when it comes to confidence. It’s about knowing who you are and what you have to add to any project.
Now, when you’re solidly confident about your skills and all of the things you are worth, you can’t allow yourself to be paid peanuts. You would rightly ask for the best because you know what you have to offer to the table. When it comes to writer’s challenges, lack of self-confidence is on top of the list.
5. A lack of time
Which writer doesn’t relate to this block? There are just many details to attend that it’s easy to neglect our writing or delay it for a better time. But the one truth is that a better time would never come; it never would. The better time to jot those ideas is now. Among the numerous writer’s challenges, time management is one of the crucial challenges you need to find a solution as a writer.
6. A Lack of Focus
Conclusion: Many distractions spring up uninvited in our minds; this has served as a writer’s challenge in most tasks that need precise and adequate attention. This is also the burden of the creative mind; to solve this, all we need to do is welcome the ideas while we tune out the distractions. So, we must receive and ignore selectively and do hope to get it right.
7. The fear of advertising yourself
I guess we’ve all heard these suggestions from people, ‘No, it won’t work,’ ‘That’s not right,” “You’re aiming for the moon, it’s impossible,” and blah, blah, blah…this has built up over time within our psyche, therefore, making most of us cringe to every responsibility.
Well, you’re not a weirdo because you have this stream of thought—it’s natural. Still, the sooner you do realize that you have to sell every day, the better you begin to embrace that part of yourself to make yourself pitch-perfect in your interest or niche.
As a writer, you need to keep growing, producing, and inundate your mind with creative writing styles and ideas. Your overall success depends on how much you sell yourself, and never be afraid of doing so. If you put these in place, you definitely would have broken an intense writer’s challenge and can be free as a bird!
8. Use of Words
And this applies to non-native English speakers. Most of us struggle with this; how do we express the ideas clearly in our heads in the world? This writer’s challenge has been the leading cause of apathy, and sometimes giving up wholly when it comes to the field of writing—ending up with this justification, ‘I’m not a good writer.’
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You need not be afraid to speak or write where a lot of qualified people are. Do try to make those mistakes soon enough so that people can correct you. Make sure to also attach yourself to people who are good with the English language; if you do this, over time, you’ll have a pattern, and your use of the English language will improve significantly. So, if you want to overcomes the writer’s challenges, you need to speak up.
9. Issues with Money
We all know how competitive it is out there. In essence, if you’re a writer, you know how it can be hard to get that good job with good cash. Sometimes, you may find yourself without any assignment whatsoever months unending; this can be tricky for motivation of any kind, and most people tend to give up on this writer’s challenge.
The solution, in this case, is, try and save money as much as you can or invest in other sources of income to garner as many profits over time.
That done, you won’t be left penniless if there are no jobs on the horizon. Another option is getting a day’s job to fix yourself in; this helps cut the mental effort of keeping up the pace when it comes to income.
10. Apathy
Some writers don’t know when it’s time to have a break. If you don’t sleep enough and exercise a bit, there’s no way you’ll be able to focus on writing; and your productivity tends to suffer.
Do make sure you sleep at least seven hours every night. In that way, you’ll wake up more agile and ready to take on any tasks whatsoever.
11. Editing while Writing
There’s this problem (and I’m guilty of it too) of going back to the previous day’s work and editing it till it is perfect. This can be tiring and annoying at the same time. The problem we find here is that the scene would never be perfect because there’s always that one thing to remove and add up. So, what’s the point?
The solution here would be to develop the habit of continuing where you left off the minute you settle down. Just go with the flow of writing, editing is a separate piece of creativity of its own, and you can come back to correct it.
12. Distracted by things Online
We’ve all had that situation when we write and ‘pop’ we get a message or remember a video we have to watch on YouTube; it can be endless. You gradually begin to check this, and that and before you even realize it, you have wasted your time and done almost nothing. Distraction is one of the major writer’s challenges you need to avoid if you want to go far as a writer.
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The solution, in this case, would be to leave it all aside, control your appetite, and do the job first. You can do at least half of the job if the said job has a stipulated time, which is far from requesting submission at present, and continue later on after your break. Or if it’s something to be done now, then be done with it, and ask your client for more days if it’s needed.
13. Forget the Brilliant Ideas
James is having a cocktail with friends then an idea pops in his head for that plot he has to do at home. But he needs to be polite at the hour and focus on his friends. And by the time he was done with all he was doing, the idea escaped his memory—James is disappointed with himself and calls himself a sore loser. James is a symbol of most writers who struggle to be the best.
The solution for this would be to jot your ideas on a notepad or scrap of paper. That would solve the problem.
If this is too much for you, there are several apps you can download online via the Apple Store or Play Store and make good use of them.
14. Find the time to write
When it comes to writing, it doesn’t happen in a single day. It’s said to take weeks and even months too. This has led most aspiring indie authors to shy away from the field of writing.
The solution here would be to write a book and choose to make it a priority. Make sure you look through your schedule and make a plan for yourself.
15. Not being taken seriously
Most people don’t take writing as a serious career. And you don’t need to blame them, a layman writes, and even a kid writes, so what’s unique about that? This sort of reply most times from our friends and the likes can be pretty disheartening.
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Well, there is no alternative here than simply ignoring them, set yourself on the ladder of success, and make your money. I believe that would shut them up, and reconsider joining you or making you their mentor.
Conclusion
To round it all up, you don’t need to be the perfect gypsy when it comes to writing, and you can overcome all of the writer’s challenges that come your way.
You need to know that all of the problems stated above in this post aren’t strange in any way. It’s a standard process for all writers. This is why we’re writers—we want to have all of it at once, we want excellence, we want to be noticed with our writing style, and many more.
The tidbit I’ll give here before signing out would be, you’re unique in your own space, work on that.
If you found these writer’s challenges helpful, do share the post.
