11. Writer's Sabotage

Been there. Done that. Gone back for seconds.

People sabotage themselves daily. I think it's one of the more difficult walls one has to face because you have to be honest as to why in the world you are slitting your dreams.

There's two forms of sabotage:
1. Direct sabotage
2. Indirect sabotage

Both are lethal to the writer. One of the most important parts for a writer is to be well equipped for battles. As instructors of writing I think often times we lure human bodies to just get to writing, but not necessarily tell them what monsters are hovering over them to prevent them from excellence. As with direct sabotage, sometimes we do in fact corrupt our own writing. I would attest that there are two main causes for this: (1) a fear of failure; and (2) a more potent fear of success. I think there's this false idea that if one doesn't write then he or she cannot fail or succeed; therefore, one does not have to deal with the weight of the consequences. We screw up great opportunities all the time because it overwhelms us. At the end of the day, because we know it could change whatever status quo we've found. On the other hand, failure of course can put a dent in the ego, and I think for a more mature writer this may be less of a concern since in theory she should desire criticism so as to learn what mistakes she has and eventually grow. I'm more concerned about the fear of success.

I've already seen plenty in my life that were fully capable of taking on the planet but let the wind carry them another direction. I've seen men with options of beautiful women to date but instead vied for the Velmas from Scooby Doo, simply because... the idea of a successful woman was too daunting (load of crap indeed, but more baffling than anything else).

You should never stop working. Writing... I'll bargain with you on giving yourself a break so you can recover. But at the very least, you should be doing research. Immerse yourself into the genre of what you are writing or do the opposite so as to lighten your own spirit or you could also contextualize two seemingly unrelated worlds into a beautiful whole. Regardless of what weight you have in life, keep thinking about your story world in your mind. Internalize it until it's what is pumping through your veins. Once your body knows it's surviving off story, and the one that you're feeding it, it will crave that story through and through. Kind of sounds absurd, right? If you can't write a sentence worth crap then make yourself daydream about your story world and the characters for at least an hour a day. Think about it in bed if you refuse to get up -- then you're not so lazy resting there! You are using your noggin and exploring it in complex ways. Try exercising and thinking about your story world at the same time so your body doesn't become sedentary, and this can also have similar muscle building responses for your mind.

Indirect sabotage in my opinion has to do with the other aspects of your life bleeding over to the point that it cuts into your writing time. This can be controlled to some degree, but at times tragedy happens and sometimes celebration's necessary too. Also, you do occasionally need to pull away from words to be with people. Without knowing people -- what really resonates with their hearts and minds -- how do you expect to reach them with a story? Sometimes the best ideas and truths are going to come from everyday conversations from beautiful, perfect strangers. I deplore nonfiction writing in fiction, so I encourage you not to use your personal life for vignettes of scenes. If you must, that's your own business. But I think you should pry yourself away from this practice to expand your writing capabilities.

Besides sabotage, you know what's the most annoying phrase I've heard in writing since a kid? Push the envelope. I hate it. How far does this magical envelope have to be pushed? I think we need to stop thinking in merely wide terms and go more vertical, go deeper in our search and quest for the inspirational, the transcendental, and the beautiful. Personally, if you're going to go for rancid violence or sex (these are fine avenues, but often what people are referring to in the 'envelope') it better be well connected to the point of the plot or (as stated on a previous post) it's pointlessness. If you're going to push the envelope make sure to dig deep at the same time; both axes are needed for strong storytelling.