Writing anxiety is a term I don't see very often around the author/writing community, but it's something very common that I know most people deal with. The actual term "anxiety" usually has negative connotations to it, and some people in today's society still actually believe that people with mental illnesses are making things up. "Writing anxiety" specifically writing that is associated with writing. Just like "social anxiety", "driving anxiety", and "food anxiety". Writing anxiety for me specifically makes me question everything I have to do with being an author. I will writes pages, then thinking it's not good enough or worried that someone else will read it and embarrass me, I delete or get stressed to the point where I can't write for the rest of the day. I have talked to a few other people about this, which is why I created a FaceBook page specifically centered around the anxieties that come with writing. You can check that out here.
How do you fight writing anxiety?
The best ways that I have found to combat this anxiety is through reminders. Like when instead of saying "wow you loser, you couldn't even write one page this week?" I remind myself "I mean no, but I did think of a new way to develop my character" or even "no, but it's not a race". It's also useful to make sure you as a writer know that you're also human, with things like family, money, education, even children getting in the way of your writing. So just remind yourself and remember that you are doing your best.
Does having anxiety make you any less of a writer?
Never! Writing your novel/book series, while it may have an eventual deadline, is never an absolute competition or race. Having writing anxiety just means you don't have the same ability as other writers. It does not in any way make you less competent, talented, or special.
