17 Common Fiction Writing Fears (and How to Overcome the Anxiety)

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When fiction writing fears run rampant—trampling over our writing joy—it’s time to learn how to overcome them. Yet, that’s easier said than done, right? 

To start, writing fears can be sneaky. They can don a disguise of. . .

• Procrastination
• Writer’s block
• Believable excuses why you can’t write today
• Etcetera

Or manifest into. . .

• Self-doubt
• Overwhelm
• Feelings of being stuck
• Etcetera

I know how awful battling writing fears can make one feel. I’m susceptible to anxiety, so fiction writing fears can overtake my writing life if I don’t keep them in check.

But don’t be discouraged! Through personal experience, research into psychology, and even conversations with doctors about anxiety and its relationship with fear I’ve learned some techniques to help manage these writing fears.

Not only that, I reached out to writers on Instagram and another fellow writer friend for some more common writing fears to explore. Below is the product of my research and some suggestions to help you overcome your writing fears.

So take heart, because they can be overcome, and the first step is to call them out by name. 

Do You Have a Writing Fear?

Not sure if you are battling a writing fear? Here are some symptoms which could point to an unidentified writing fear: 

• Feelings of overwhelm
• Writer’s block 
• Procrastination
• Physical tension, like a tightening in the gut or muscle tension in the shoulders when you sit down to write
• Lack of confidence 
• Excessive learning about writing but NEVER sitting down to write
• Getting stuck at a certain scene in your story
• Cleaning out every closet and junk drawer in your house before giving yourself permission to sit down and write

Again the list could go on, but I think the point is made: Fear can disguise itself. It will hide inside of you because it doesn’t want to be exposed into the light. You need to call it out, confront it, and—if needed—banish it. 

A creative personification of fear is given by the artist NF throughout a selection of his songs. He raps about Fear living inside him, tricking him, guilt-tripping him, and lying to him. He makes the point that Fear will continue to be our companion unless we make a conscious effort to live without him.

 Of course, fear has a purpose in our lives. Fear keeps us safe in life and death situations—it’s a natural survival instinct—but it becomes a problem when fear invades our every day lives.

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Common Fiction Writing Fears

1. Fear of failure
2. Fear of success (because you have to live up to your previous successes)
3. Fear of not writing perfectly
4. Fear of other peoples expectations or opinions and of letting them down (or proving them right)
5. Fear of disappointing yourself
6. Fear of not writing your story to its full potential
7. Fear you lack the necessary skills to write a good story
8. Fear you lack enough real life experience
9. Fear you may be writing for appearances instead of for a true desire to be a writer
10. Fear you may be copycatting another author’s voice
11. Fear you lack organization and/or time management skills
12. Fear you are working on too much at once
13. Fear you are not working on enough
14. Fear of writing too quickly and will run out of steam
15. Fear of writing too slowly
16. Fear of not being capable of fixing a story problem
17. Fear of not doing a scene, character, world, or story idea justice

Phew! That is a lot we may be worrying about—no wonder we get discouraged or overwhelmed. This list could be even longer, I’m sure, but it’s good enough for our purpose today.

Related Reading: 5 Writing Fears and 5 Fixes to Stop Procrastinating Now

Facing Fears + Anxieties Exercise

Try this formula which I learned from a psychologist to address any writing fears or anxieties:

1. Call it out
   • We did that. 
2. Depending on the kind fear, use one of these sentence starters to address and uncover the truth:
   • “It is not true because…” 
   • “Um, interesting. A more helpful way to think of this could be…”
   • “Perhaps this is a possibility, but I can be prepared.” 

FOR EXAMPLE: 

Fear of not writing perfectly. It is not true because there is no one perfect way to write a book. No author will ever attain perfection, so this standard is futile.

 Fear of success (and having to continue to live up to it). Um, interesting. A more helpful way to think of this could be if I become successful it means I have nurtured the skills I need to write another good story.

Believing you lack the necessary skills to write a good story. Perhaps this is a possibility, but I can be prepared.

• Review the worst and best case scenario, then land in the middle.
  • Worst case: I know nothing about storytelling and will never be good enough.
  • Best case: I know everything there is to know about storytelling.
  • Middle case (what we want): I do know what makes a good story, but I need to keep practicing and remember there is always something I can learn or improve upon. 
• Then, make a plan to manage the possibility.
  • I can read books on the craft of writing, seek feedback by fellow trusted writers, and grow as I keep writing.

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Overcome Your Writing Fears

If you’re game + have fifteen minutes on your hands, try this: 

1. Call it out. Make a list of your own specific writing fears. 
2. Confront each fear with one of the 3 sentence starters above. 
3. Whenever you feel the fear or anxiety invading your writing, remind yourself of the logical truth you’ve uncovered (and plan if applicable—sentence starter #3). 

Fear loses some of its power when it is unveiled. The more we can confront our fears and take action to address them, the power shifts from Fear to you. 

One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is to keep writing when the writing fears try to overtake you.

I won’t lie, it’s a journey to address each fear and consistently remind yourself of the truth, but it is worth it. Fear only serves us when saving us from a truly life or death situation.

So not all fear is bad, but when it stops us from writing, we need to call out its lie. 

Tell your story, 

Sarah 

Related Reading: How to Keep Writing in the Face of Fear

Storytellers, what do you think? How do you overcome your writing fears and anxieties?