Common Signs You're in Writer's Resistance
Book in a Month by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, Ph.D.
Here are some common signs you are in writer’s resistance:
- You’re always too busy to write.
- You have a history of procrastinating on every story you attempt to write.
- You want others to tell you what to write next.
- You feel as if you can’t write without a partner.
- You lose interest in your current story and keep finding new ideas to pursue.
- You’re completely disorganized when it comes to outlining your story or cleaning up your workspace.
- You fog up or space out after writing the first act.
- You feel paralyzed when you sit down at the computer.
- You’re impatient (“Why do I have to read this book? I just want to write already!”), and you beat yourself up for not finishing enough work.
- You keep running into negative people who deter you from writing.
- You tell people all about your ideas before you’ve given yourself a chance to develop them.
- You often feel irritable when you think about writing or feel like you’re losing control—over your story, your writing time, etc.
The fact of the matter is that most of these excuses are self-afflicted. You feel like you are surrounded by negative people because you are—you attract them! You tell people your ideas, telling yourself it’ll clear things up in your own head, when really, the more you talk, the less
you work, and the less excited you get. Abandoning these defensive measures can feel like taking a huge risk.
