Three Unhelpful Writing Assumptions to Release Right Now!

In Episode 17 of the Write it Scared podcast, book coach Stacy Frazer explores three common unhelpful writing assumptions that could be holding you back from crafting your best book. 

Stacy shares insights into why the belief that writing should be easy is not only false but dangerous, discusses the unrealistic expectation that first drafts should be near-perfect, and dismantles the misconception that writing must be a solitary endeavor. 

Tune in to learn how to reframe these assumptions, embrace the messy creative process, and find the supportive community you need. Plus, hear testimonials from writers who have benefited from Stacy's group coaching. 

Whether you're a novice or an experienced writer, this episode offers valuable guidance to help you overcome these assumptions, stay persistent, and make forward progress.

00:00 The Myth of Easy Writing

01:26 Unhelpful Writing Assumptions

03:15 The Romantic Fantasy of Writing

05:56 The Reality of Writing a Novel

09:04 The Importance of Writing Community

10:50 Overcoming Writing Assumptions

11:10 Resources and Support for Writers

12:08 Testimonials and Group Coaching

13:55 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

MORE INFO ABOUT GROUP COACHING WITH WRITE IT SCARED

APPLY FOR GROUP COACHING WITH WRITE IT SCARED

Mindset Tool Mentioned in Show: THE WRITE MINDSET

Transcript

Hey Writer, 

Welcome back to the Write It Scared podcast. I’m your host, Stacy and this is episode # 17. Today, we are going to talk about unhealthy writing assumptions that might be holding you back from writing your best book

And you know what they say about assumptions, right… yeah. 

So, assumptions—we all make them at some point in our journey. I’ve made plenty. 

By far the most dangerous of all is the idea that writing is or should be easy.  This assumption has many variations that masquerade as other things. Helpful things. But they are not. They keep us from finishing books we are proud of!

So, let's bust a few myths today and uncover some sneaky internal stories that run through our minds as we develop, draft, and revise our stories. 

Here are three writing assumptions that don't serve us (I've made them all!), the truth, and what to do instead!

Assumption 1: The creative process is flowy, romantic, and effortless. The muse will strike a bolt of inspiration, and we'll be off to the races. 

Yeah. No. I remember the fantasy I used to have about writing a novel: it was a perfect spring day. I sat at my desk overlooking a pond—there were ducks. I shit you not. I had a typewriter (the year was 2010) on which I typed away effortlessly as the story flowed onto the pages and the manuscript magically arranged itself into a perfect stack of polished words. Yup, total fantasy. 

Truth: Depending on a lightning strike of inspiration will not get you to a finished book. Writing is about dedication and hard work. Creativity is messy. Drafting is messy. Creating a story you will be proud of will take numerous rounds of iteration at each stage of the process, and it will get hard. Really hard. There will be days you hate writing, believe the story is utterly stupid, and what you really need is a dumpster and a match. 

That's okay. This happens to all of us. It's just a day, and you may need to step away for a bit. You might be forcing the story or need a different perspective. Mainly, what is required is persistence, set at a tolerable pace that allows you to focus on the aspects you enjoy and tolerate what you don't. It won't always be fun, but you will always be glad you did it. 

What to do instead: Show up for the mess you will make. Lower your expectations, focus on what you enjoy, and build some accountability into your writing process so you show up on the days you don't want to (just like you do for the day job :)

Prime your creative pump by being selective about what you intellectually consume. Remember, there are many ways to make progress in a story. Time spent thinking about it is just as necessary as putting words down on the page. 

Assumption 2: Writing a novel probably isn't that hard and won't take all that long and therefore what I write should be good on the first try :) 

Truth: I know, I know, you're laughing with me. I believed this when I started writing. I also thought only people with natural talent could be authors. (Another wildly untrue assumption.) Talent is a thing, sure, but writing and storytelling are learnable skill sets. They take effort and time. There are no two ways about this, but both are attainable for a desiring and open mind. This natural talent idea held me back for so long (because I believed I had none), but once I permitted myself to try, I fell prey to the "I read a ton, so maybe this won't be so hard" mentality. HA. 

Don't feel bad if you thought this way, too (or still do). Here's the deal: we are all consumers of polished media. When a book or movie finally makes it into our hands, it's supposed to look and feel effortlessly made. It's supposed to entertain, educate, and delight us, and if it does, that means the team behind the book or the movie did a fantastic job. We don't see the ugly—the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the production of the finished product. 

What to do instead: Whenever you doubt your efforts and endeavors, check yourself. Are you comparing your first draft with a favorite novel on your shelf? Don't do that. It won't help. That's comparing apples and oranges. But do grab that novel and look the author up. Read the author's note in the back, and look at all the folks they thanked for helping them bring a new story into the world. Look up how long the process took them. How many books did they write before they were published? See what you find. These things comfort me when I start feeling like the end is nowhere in sight because it reminds me there is no end; there is only the process. 

Assumption 3: Writing a novel is a solitary endeavor

Truth: Speaking of all the folks your favorite authors thank in the back of their book …

Writing a novel does feel like a solo act much of the time. The writing part, the typing or penning, happens alone, but the creative process does not.

 It takes a village. 

From story ideation to drafting to revision and polishing, we need others to help us craft the best story possible. Why? By ourselves, we only have our perspective to go off of. We only have our experience to draw from. It is not enough to save us when the going gets tough, when our minds wreak havoc with our intentions, when we get to the place where we can't see the forest or the damn trees. Hell, by then, we can't recall what a tree looks like! 

We need community. 

What to do instead: Find a writing community of like-minded, genre-minded folks who will get you. Take a risk. Be vulnerable. Put your hand out. Definitely have good boundaries, but do seek a healthy community. Or if that feels too scary, get support from a writing coach who gets it. Find a mentor. Follow people who inspire you and share when they struggle and when they experience success. This will normalize the roller coaster, and you'll feel less lonely. We are not meant to be emotional islands. We simply need to find the right people to share with!

What writing assumptions did you begin your journey with? Any still lingering? 
Are you mindful of your assumptions? Do you have a process for identifying unhelpful beliefs and reframing them? 

If not, I'm going to give you two suggestions. First, check out my free mindset tool, The Write Mindset. Yes, it's very cheeky, I know. It's designed to help you face writing fears and overcome creative blocks by identifying unhelpful internal narratives, teach you how to rewrite them into affirming beliefs, then show you how to put those beliefs into action. I will make sure I drop the link into the show notes. 

Also, if you are looking for a supportive, small writing community to get started with that comes with professional mentorship to help you learn how to write a book that you're wildly proud of, my small group book, coaching options for writers who need story development and drafting support, is opening back up this fall. Here's what writers are saying about the group coaching experience with right at scared. 

So, I'm going to toot my own horn here which feels really weird. But these were incredibly moving. 

So here's the first one. This is from Emily, a rom-com writer. “I'm writing to say how incredibly helpful your group coaching has been. Your craft modules have enabled me to better understand my story and my main character. Your coaching style is accessible and fosters a great sense of community. Overall, it's been such a great experience, and I've looked forward to every call.”

And then the next is from Kristi who is a fantasy writer.  Kristi says, “I don't know where I'd be in my writing journey without the guidance and the insights I've gained from group coaching. I'm obsessed with a little community you've created for us. And I will keep coming back because I learned something new on every call. Thank you.”

And here's one more, and this is Denise. Who is a women's fiction author and  also hold an Emmy in writing.  This course is by far the most useful forum. I've come across to my quest to draft my first novel. From day one, Stacy has been encouraging, supportive and has a wealth of knowledge on the subject of fiction rating. She is by far the best writing coach I have worked with because of her. My first draft has moved closer to completion. I highly recommend this group. 

Let me tell you how big my heart feels from reading those beautiful reviews. It is such an honor and a pleasure to work with these writers. 

So, the small group coaching cohorts begin this September. And you can apply for a spot now. And if it's a good fit for you and your story, I would be honored to help you.

I'll make sure to link to the service in the show notes but you can also go to https://www.writeitscared.co/ and check out the services tab for more information. 

I hope this episode has allowed you to identify some unhelpful writing assumptions that might be running around in your brain. You are not alone. And, you know, we all start from a place of unknowing, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  And if we stay, we grow and then we flourish because of what we learn.  And I believe the best way to do that is within community.  So, thank you so much for tuning in today. And I will see you next week.