#IWSG: Writing Stressors and Delights

Posted on by Astrid

IWSG

Hi everyone. Can you believe it’s December already? I in a way can’t, but in another sense am so grateful November is finally over! It’s the first Wednesday of the month and this means it’s time for the Insecure Writer’s Support Group (#IWSG) to meet. The past month was pretty good as far as writing goes. I published 21 posts again, which I considered “okay” in August but now am rather content with. I also actually did some creative writing, which I am really happy about. I am striving for 300 blog posts in 2021 and am pretty sure I can make this happen. After all, I’ll need to publish 20 posts for that this month and December is a longer month than November and a less stressful one at that (for me at least). Wish me luck!

Now on to this month’s optional question. This month, we are asked to write about what stresses us the most in our writing and what delights us. My main stressor is the pressure I put onto myself, for instance of having to write a certain number of posts (okay, okay, I know, I just did that!).

Another big and related stressor is the comparison trap. I mean, I compare myself to more successful writers and bloggers and see how much they get done and I get stressed out about it. For example, I’ve always wanted to write a book but cannot get myself to write this many words at all even during NaNoWriMo. It probably doesn’t help that NaNoWriMo is in November, but then again I couldn’t do it during any month. I probably won’t ever write a book.

Of course, there are a lot of less successful writers and bloggers out there too. Bloggers who barely post once a week, for example. And how do you define success, anyway? I mean, I’ve never wanted to earn money with my blog and I still delight in every comment I receive.

This brings me to the delights of writing. My main reason for writing is to express myself, but I definitely find huge joy when I feel I’ve touched someone else’s heart. I don’t write for my stats, regardless of my inner critic’s attempts to make me do so. Rather, if I find that I’ve genuinely been an inspiration to one person, that’s far more important than a dozen generic comments.

23 thoughts on “#IWSG: Writing Stressors and Delights”

      1. I do a daily prompt which is just a word. Mostly I just use the word but sometimes, if I’m feeling creative, I’ll jot something down to illustrate the meaning. I started taking part at the start of covid, because posting basically meant “I’m okay”.

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        1. That’s so awesome! I’ll have a go at that too. English is my second language and, with some of the daily word prompt challenges, I don’t know the definition of some of the words. Then again, I have a dictionary on my phone and really have been wanting to expand my vocabulary for a while now anyway.

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            1. I don’t have a smart speaker, but I do have Siri indeed. Then again, I’m pretty sure a dictionary is better at explaining what complex English words mean than Siri, as Siri would likely give me an equally complex Dutch word as a translation. I’ll see though.

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                  1. The first year we actually had a holiday there, we stayed in Holland in a place called Camperduin. It’s on the coast not far drom Alkmaar.
                    I was very disheartened that I could not even say the name of the place properly!

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                    1. I totally understand that. The “ui” sound is very hard to pronounce, I imagine even harder than the “th” sound in English (which I keep stumbling over).

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    1. Thank you for sharing. I understand we all have different priorities. I imagine you’re a writer in other areas, since you participate in IWSG. My blog is my main outlet for my writing, so that’s why I maintain pretty high standards.

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  3. Agreed! We all have to define success for ourselves and work toward that.
    It’s taken me a (long) while, but I’m finally settling into “me” and doing what works for my brain and personality. We can’t all work the same way. I can do NaNo but I can’t work with anything more than a basic outline or work with deadlines or write something edgy or…
    Find your groove and have fun!

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  6. Happy IWSG Day, Astrid! I consider blogging a writing genre. Congratulations on your success with blogging! I find comparing my writing with that of others is more than stressing. It’s depressing. I write to express myself too. Writing fills my heart, and if someone else enjoys my blog or my short stories, that’s a big reward for me. Happy blogging, and you never know, one day you might write a book!

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    1. Thank you so much for your encouraging comment. This means so much to me. I at one point would tweak what I wrote to suit what I felt my readers wanted to see, but that was not only deeply dissatisfying to me but also probably to most of my authentic readers.

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