Water to Swim In

Not long ago, I took stock of my unrealized desire to be a published writer, or maybe I should I say â??Writerâ?? with a capital â??W.â?? For some reason it always seemed a lofty goal, to want to see my byline in print. I found this trepidation totally uncharacteristic to every other area in my life. For twenty years, I have ministered to women both in small home group settings as well as conferences. Especially in conference settings, friends would ask, â??Are you nervous?â?? Almost every time I could answer truthfully that I was not. I could easily stand up in front of hundreds of faces and feel quite confident in my own abilities. Yet, to put an article or query in the mail, or to push the send button to some unknown editor elicited in me, absolute, consuming insecurity.

I looked at my collection of books and realized with a bit of a jolt that I bought my first â??Writerâ??s Marketplaceâ?? in 1997, and have bought one every year since. Beside them stood as many consecutive volumes of Sally Stuartâ??s â??Christian Writersâ?? Market Guideâ?? Another shelf, is full to brimming over, with books discussing every facet of writing, from getting ideas, to setting up filing systems, to time management. I have a filing cabinet almost busting open with ideas, and research and possible markets.

In times gone by, I have looked at those shelves and filing cabinet and have seen the investment of time and money that they represent. They could easily have become a monument to my failure to accomplish my dream of being published. Or they could be testament to the time I have been educating myself and practicing my craft.

How many of us have dreams to accomplish bigger things but allow consuming insecurity to win over us? Letâ??s redefine past failure as learning, and unfinished projects as practice, and rejection as apprenticeship. Letâ??s take a step toward that thing that we want the most, whether it be writing, or starting a small business, or finishing a degree.

For years I have dipped my toe into the scary world of publication, like a swimmer testing new waters. Each time I came close, I backed off and settled back into my comfy chair to wait for warmer conditions. That day I decided, that things are going to be different I am going to dive in, sink or swimâ?¦ I shut my eyes and jumped.

Does anybody else want to go swimming?

1. Set a manageable goal-When trying to overcome fear, or insecurity or just looking at an overwhelming task, set a small bite-sized goal. This goal needs to be very specific. To set a goal to â??writeâ?? for instance, can set us up for days of floundering. â??Write an articleâ?? is still not specific enough. I can easily waste hours, or even days, perusing magazines and websites in search of an idea. My goal is to write a short article about overcoming insecurity targeted to beginning writers.

2. Determine the steps-Even small tasks can be broken down into their simpler components. List each one of these components on a sheet of paper, or wherever you make lists. Cross off each task at each stage of completion. This provides a strategy or roadmap to complete our goal, as well as a continued sense of accomplishment along the way. We especially need to do this in tasks that cause us anxiety or just seem overwhelming.

3. Set a deadline- The deadline for small goals needs to be sooner not later, you may want to put time limits on each component. For this article I set the deadline for writing it today, and actually sending it tomorrow. The reason for this is that I find I need my work to â??setâ?? before I give it a final proof. This is a trick I learned in university, every time I wrote a paper, off the cuff, it had glaring mistakes. I have learned that my best work needs to have a setting time.

4. Jump! This is the moment of truth: fear, insecurity, relief, and accomplishment. I remember the feeling the first time I jumped of the high diving board. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. On the way down, I wished I hadnâ??t taken that step. Although when I finally hit the surface of the water, it didnâ??t seem so bad. Wow, I did it!

5. Do the whole thing over again- Use this new gained confidence to start the whole process over again.

Pamela Hatheway has ministered in the United States and Canada, both through her writing, as well as teaching and facilitating workshops, speaking at regular services and conferences.

Pamela lives in Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada with her husband David and their two daughters Anna and Olivia. Email phatheway@rogers.com

Sign up for her weekly Ezine at JugglingAct@yahoogroups.com

---

Have You Tested Your Plot?

Creative Writing Tips ?Our plotting stage is our testing area.Everything... Read More

Learn to Talk on Paper: The Art of Effective Business Writing

Rudolf Flesch, a specialist in writing skills, ran classes... Read More

Writing Helpful Help ? A Minimalism Checklist

User documentation is all too often written by programmers for... Read More

Need a Book Coach, Ghost Writer, or Editor? Part 2

If you either want to write a book to help... Read More

Writing Made Them Rich #4: Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho was born on August 24th 1947 in Rio... Read More

How Can You Find Freelance Work As A Writer?

For those looking at the jobs listings for writers, they... Read More

Top Ten Ways to Write a Book That Sells

Is there a book inside of you? Yes? Then why... Read More

The Cost of Being a Writer

You are the only one who knows what being a... Read More

Screenwriting ? Five Golden Insights

Originality emerges from structure. Once you have a story idea,... Read More

Benjamin Franklin: His Ageless Writing Tips

If Ben Franklin were alive today, he would be...uh, very... Read More

Writing Press Releases That Get Noticed

Among the various foolproof methods used to boost traffic to... Read More

Vary Your Writing Style and Win Readers

First drafts are for getting down the ideas. Anna Jacobs... Read More

7 Reference Books for Your Desk

I hate to admit this, but I rarely get an... Read More

Need a Book Coach, Ghost Writer, or Editor? Part 1

If you either want to write a book to help... Read More

Six Tips for Submitting Fiction - if you want it to get published

You can learn a lot about what it takes to... Read More

Have You Completed A Character Questionnaire?

Creative Writing Tips ?Complete a character questionnaire for each of... Read More

Be Concise

Concision. (Sounds like I made up another word.) It's the... Read More

Story Building with Imagination

In the words of Aristotle, "happiness is self contentedness helping... Read More

Pages: Your Book of Life

Many of us dream of writing a book. Why not.... Read More

The Writers Identity: Exploring the Writer Within

Les Edgerton writes in his book, Finding Your Voice, that... Read More

What is Screenwriting?

Simply put, it is the art of writing scripts for... Read More

Overcome Writers Block with Snake Dancing

Writer's block! Even columnist Dave Berry has it. He admits... Read More

How to Write Bad Poetry

So you've decided to crown yourself with a title that... Read More

How to Create Incredible Characters Easily

Creating incredible characters can be easy if you know of... Read More

A Series of Articles on Autobiography

ESSAYS ON AUTOBIOGRAPHY: NUMBER 1Preamble:Nearly seven years ago I wrote... Read More

The Best Freelance Job Boards for Writers

How many times have you checked out a job board... Read More

Does Each Element of Your Story Further The Theme?

Creative Writing Tips ?Whichever theme you choose, all the elements,... Read More

How To Identify Your Own Style Of Writing

This article is to help identify which style, technique or... Read More

Tips On Writing A Killer Sales Letter

Writing a sales letter doesn't have to be that difficult... Read More

Save Time When You Write

I'm in the process of moving from one computer to... Read More

Writing - Copyrights and Trademarks Protect You

When most people consider writing a book, they don't think... Read More

Character Motivation - Always Ask WHY

For many years, I've been a tutor for students undertaking... Read More

Freelance or Staff

There is no doubt that a staff writer enjoys advantages... Read More