Stop Thinking About It And Do It!

Sometimes I think I tend to over analyse things. I'm a worrier, like a dog with a bone I bother things until I've got myself into a real froth about whatever it is. This is often not conductive to a quiet, contemplative life and if I was that way inclined might lead me to drink or a nervous ulcer!

This naturally bleeds into my writing. I over think the whole process, picking away at it, destroying it and raking through the wreckage. It's no wonder I spend so much time doubting myself and my abilities. Once I've peered into the entrails of the writing process it's never going to look the same again, is it?

But this is all most unhelpful. It stops me from writing. It makes me doubt and question everything about what I write and what I want to write. I write a little, read it back, find it wanting and despair. My inner critic is constantly shouting 'You're not good enough!' or 'Who do you think you're fooling?' and I confess that I spend too long listening to her - there's another thing, why is my inner critic a woman? Shouldn't it be a man? Scary to think that I imagine a woman putting me down; must analyse that ...

I think it's part of my character to over think stuff. I do think I spend too much time musing over things rather than doing stuff. So my challenge to myself is to stop thinking about it and just do it. I've set myself a challenge of writing a short story every week for a year; that's not doable if I spend hours worrying about writing rather than writing. So I'm making a promise to myself - I don't need to analyse the process or the talent or the plot or the characters, I just need to write it down. I can look again later and analyse but if I worry too much about it there will be nothing to analyse!

So now I have to put that into practise, to go against years of habit. To trust in my own abilities in a way I find really difficult. To trust that I have the skills to write and don't need to question them every five minutes. All very scary but necessary if I'm to progress as a writer. So wish me luck as I attempt to do the impossible; to have faith in myself and trust my own abilities.