Writing shouldn’t be so difficult, and when you answer “What is Writing?“, it sounds easy as pie. However, writing is damn hard. But, why?

There are so many different reasons, and they’re different for everyone. Where one person may say their biggest obstacle is focus, another may say that they just don’t know how to organize everything. So let’s take a look at a few of the most hit-on issues and we can talk about a few ways to overcome them.

1. The Stepford Complex – I’m not sure that this is an actual term, but I certainly feel like I’m malfunctioning as I strive for perfection. How do you feel when someone tells you “it doesn’t have to be perfect”? For a long time, I took that as a challenge. Oh yeah? Try me! Well, then I had to back up my big mouth. 
   
   The issue with this issue is that nothing is perfect. Let’s admit something that a lot of people still struggle with. There is no such thing as a one fits all level of perfect. Perfect is only as much as we allow ourselves to be, and shouldn’t be dismissed by others. Let people complain, they can have their own opinions. You set your own goals, and you work diligently to achieve them. 
   
2. Perpetual Lack of Time – In this day and age, it’s a wonder people still have hobbies. Once you’ve finished meal prepping, working, working out, paying bills, cleaning the house, and getting your 7+ hours of sleep; how can you possibly have time to schedule anything right? It’s a problem that a lot of people face, but like the perfection issue, you set your limits. 
   
   The way around this one is focus. You come up with your 10 minutes to an hour for writing, and you focus only on that. The bills will still be there, if the gym closes there are a million videos online you can follow at home, and you can still sleep plenty. Focus on the task at hand. Jot down a plan for what you need to write, make an outline if you need it, and just do it. (Nike, please don’t sue me.)
   
3. Once Upon A Clock…That’s not right – Writing is sadly not like riding a bike. These particular wheels get rusty when you don’t use them. After a stretch of downtime, it’s easy to make a lot of mistakes as you get back into it.
   
   Can you guess the trick here? You got it! Practice! Emails with full writing can help out with this, but no the “TYSM! I’ll TTYS” doesn’t count. Text speak is completely useless in this situation and can hinder you. It’s too easy to fall out of practice, so if you truly can’t block out some time to devote to writing, jot down a random paragraph instead of a plain to-do list. 
   
4. To Burn The Writing, Or Not To Burn The Writing – Sharing your work can be very difficult. Artists go through this with their paintings often times too. They finish and they’re very proud, but as they look at the piece more, they “find” little flaws as they worry about what others might think. The same can be said of writers. I know I’m scared to share my creative writing a lot of the time. Short stories, flash fictions, and blogs are totally easy to hand over; but ask me to read the first chapter of the novel I’m working on? Oooohhh no. You could hate the character I love the most. The setting I toiled over could look different in your mind. ….Excuse me while I rewrite a few things. 
   
   Yes. I really do that. I’ve gotten much better with this issue, but for a long time, I would constantly write and rewrite something because of the fears I gave myself. I worried about what others might think, and if it was going to be right. Then one day I realized, most of what I personally write, is mine. It’s perfect as long as I’m happy with it. Sometimes people will see things differently than you do. When I read Undercurrent, I’m sure at some point Ari was said to be blonde, but it didn’t fit with how I saw her and my brain decided to omit it. Now, if it ever becomes a movie, I could be a bit mopey, but for now, it’s not even an issue! Certainly didn’t phase the author when I told him.
   

Long story short? There’s a lot of ways around the issues, but there will always be issues. The four listed here aren’t even the entire roadblock.

See? There’s another one, writer’s block. Hmm…how does one get over writer’s block? Subscribe and you might find out at a later date!