Being a writer in today's society is no easy task. In my short time as an English major and pursuing the idea of being a writer, I've seen and faced a bunch of different issues. Some people look at those who are writers and think that it's the easiest thing to do. This is not true and I honestly wish more people realized it. Take a look at a few of the struggles writers face and maybe you'll understand us a little bit better.
1. Writer's Block
It is not easy coming up with a bunch of topics for articles or to keep a storyline going in a novel. People throw around this phrase so much it's sort of lost its originality. Here's a hint: you're probably having "writer's block" on that essay because you procrastinated on it until the very last minute. During one of these phases, it can be easy to get angry, frustrated or want to give up on what we're working on. Writer's block is very real and should be taken seriously.
2. Criticism
Don't get me wrong on this one. Most of the time, we love constructive criticism. It's what makes us stronger and makes what we're writing that much better. But, there comes a point when someone can be too harsh about our work. It hurts when someone takes what we've been working on for so long and theoretically tears it up into little bits and pieces.
3. Feeling like we aren't good enough.
This sort of goes along with my previous point. We can be so unsure of ourselves sometimes because our chosen craft is almost always full of uncertainty. We don't know if our storyline will be well liked. We don't know if anything of what we've written really even makes sense. We also tend to compare ourselves to other writers and when we don't measure up to their level of distinction, we crumble. We begin to feel like we aren't good enough to pursue this career. We also tend to try to be perfect and that almost never works out in our favor. It's hard to be certain of yourself when your entire craft is full of uncertainty.
4. Trying to be ourselves.
This is so much easier said than done. The entire world seems to be focused on a model of "you have to be exactly like this person to be successful" and it's not cool. Even still, we tend to try and fit into another author's mold. Do exactly what they do and maybe we'll be successful as well. To a certain extent this is okay, I think. But, sometimes it's unclear how far is too far. We, as writers, have to be careful not to lose our personal style of writing and way of doing things.
