Write your book despite your fears

By Dennis Mellersh

Psychological roadblocks often get in the way of people realizing their desire to write a book.

One of the biggest of these mental or psychological impediments is fear.

• Fear that you won’t have anything important to say in your book
• Fear that you don’t have the necessary writing skills
• Fear that people won’t like what you write in your book

And the list of fears goes on…

 

Yet, you should write your book in spite of these fears.

 

It doesn’t matter what kind of book you want to write; it takes some courage, to “expose” your ideas in print, and that’s why most people will not attempt it.

 

The message in your book could be important to more people than you might realize. There may be an audience waiting for and needing the precise message you want to convey in your planned book.

 

As the novelist Salman Rushdie has said, “A book is a version of the world. If you do not like it, ignore it; or offer your own version in return.”

 

You have some strong ideas and convictions, or you wouldn’t want to learn how to write a book. Honor those convictions and principles and put your ideas down in writing.

 

You need to “blow past” your fears and write the book that’s in you; or as Susan Jeffers, Ph.D., notes in the title of her motivational book, “Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway.”

 

• The children’s book you write could inspire young people or teach them something important
• The novel or collection of short stories you write and publish could have meaningful insights on life that would help your readers
• Your how-to-do-it book could help someone solve a problem and improve their life

One of the most important areas of satisfaction in life is in making the effort to create “something of our own,” and writing a book gives us this opportunity.

 

Our human nature, however will tend to throw up a lot of “what if’s” or doubts, and interfere with our desire to distribute our ideas through our writing.

 

Nevertheless, we should remember the words of the famous 18th Century book author and literary critic Samuel Johnson, who wrote, “Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome.”