Discouragement is normal – keep writing your book

By Dennis Mellersh

After you have spent some time researching how to write your book, and have started to actually do some writing, you will likely discover than writing is hard work.

And, because writing can be difficult, even for experienced writers, the goal of producing a manuscript for your book may seem a distant goal, and may even seem unattainable.

In short, you may become discouraged.

This is normal for anyone engaged in creating artistic work, such as composing music, producing a painting, and yes, learning the skills required to write a book.

The difficulty you are experiencing is not “writer’s block” (a situation which can visit even established writers with a lot of experience), but rather is a normal part of the learning process of becoming a writer.

Discouragement is part of the journey.

The key to working past this “roadblock” is to realize, and then to accept, that it is a normal emotional condition in any difficult creative learning process.

On top of the tough path of learning to write effectively, there is also the task of learning how to apply your writing skills to the additional skill-set requirements needed for writing a book.

Beginning writers sometimes conclude that because they find the writing process so hard, they conclude that they simply are “not programmed to be a writer” and they give up their quest.

This is a big mistake.

Learning how to write and then learning how to apply that skill towards writing the book that you envisage is a learnable skill. It’s no different than learning the many skills you have acquired throughout your life, many of which would seem very difficult at first, but eventually success in the skill is achieved.

So, realize that discouragement is a normal part of the creative process, and get on with writing your book.