In the discomfort zone? How to get through the day.
by Ruth Harris
“It’s a cut-throat industry,” said English author Sean Thomas (his real name) quoted recently in the Wall Street Journal. The international bestselling author of The Ice Twins, S.K. Tremayne aka Tom Knox, (both pen names of Mr. Thomas), was not talking about violent drug cartels or even cable companies’ billing practices.
No, he was talking about the supposedly genteel world of publishing.
Anne’s recent post about Publishing Industry Cults, Weaponized Amazon Reviews, and Organized Cyberbullying laid out details about the toxic atmosphere in which we work.
David Gaughran’s recent post, Scammers Break The Kindle Store, is hair-raising . He details how fake books are clogging Amazon bestseller lists, taking valuable slots away from honest authors.
Living in the Discomfort Zone
As writers, we feel like we are target practice—because we are. We are rejected, dissed, ignored, on the receiving end of attacks we did nothing to provoke. We must compete with fake books, click farm page reads, alligator “agents,” scummy promo come-ons, and shady “publishers.”
Although we knew it going in, there is nothing certain about what we do.
We fret about:
- pricing our books,
- what genre to target,
- how to choose the best performing keywords,
- whether our pricey cover is doing its job,
- if our costly promos are worth the time and money.
We are constantly short of time and energy.
This is unfamiliar and therefore uncomfortable territory—even when we are doing what we do best. Whether we are working from the Mother Of All Outlines or are experienced pantsers who’ve written fifty books, sometimes we’re stranded somewhere in the middle of a manuscript.
We don’t know the next scene, the next chapter, the next line of dialogue, even the next word. We are swamped with advice about how to write, how to market, where to advertise, how to build (or increase) our mailing list, how to use FB/twitter/Pinterest. Gurus and experts abound, each one selling “secrets” and “can’t fail” tips, each one offering a different route to success.
We spend our days marinating in a sh*t stew.
Welcome to the discomfort zone.
We Often Feel Powerless—Because We Are
We go from 100% control when we’re being creative to 0% when we put our work out in the world. There’s whiplash compounded by self-doubt and self-criticism. We second guess ourselves.
Call it nerves, the heebie-jeebies, panic attacks, anxiety is our middle name, and anxiety shows itself in myriad ways.
Roger Federer admits to feeling anxiety on the center court of Wimbledon. We writers can suffer from performance anxiety even when we’re sitting at our desk in sweats or a bathrobe.
An article at the Richmond University’s Writing Center, although specifically targeted to students, delves into the underlying anxiety. It can express itself as procrastination, writer’s block, and excessive worry that undercuts our functioning in other areas of our lives. The authors suggest asking yourself realistic questions, setting reasonable goals, and offers practical tips for taming the chaos.
An article in Psychology Today focuses on academic writing but offers advice that is relevant to professional writers. In it, the author points out the usefulness of writers’ communities and the wise advice of a teacher who recommended practice, echoing the old joke about how to get to Carnegie Hall: practice, practice, practice.
Even at the height of his fame and brilliance, the great pianist Vladimir Horowitz which stated that he still practiced every day.
Vladimir Horowitz understood the value of practice as does Roger Federer and every other top-performing athlete. So did Steve Jobs, who practiced his world-changing (literally) product presentations over and over before delivering them. From ballet dancers at the barre to rock stars in the studio, performers understand that practice is essential.
But, as it turns out, practice has benefits beyond just helping us improve.
How to Get Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable
A recent article by Brad Stulberg in New York Magazine quotes athletes who explain how they use experience and practice to become comfortable with discomfort:
- Olympic marathoner Des Linden reports that at mile 20 of 26.2, when the inevitable suffering kicks in, through years of practice she’s learned to stay relaxed and in the moment. She repeats the mantra: “calm, calm, calm; relax, relax, relax.”
- Evelyn Stevens, the women’s record holder for most miles cycled in an hour, says that during her hardest training intervals, “instead of thinking I want these to be over, I try to feel and sit with the pain. Heck, I even try to embrace it.”
- Big-mountain climber Jimmy Chin, the first American to climb up — and then ski down — Mt. Everest’s South Pillar Route, relates that an element of fear is there in everything he does, but he’s learned how to manage it: “It’s about sorting out perceived risk from real risk, and then being as rational as possible with what’s left.”
Whether we remind ourselves to be calm and relaxed or make an effort to rationally separate the seemingly daunting odds against us from the reality of what we can control (ourselves and our work), it seems that the more we practice, the more we can learn to deal effectively with the discomfort that is an inevitable part of being a writer.
Turn Anxiety Into Creativity
At the Writers’ Store, a site for writers and filmmakers, Dennis Palumbo notes that “this difficult emotional terrain is where a writer lives much of the time — in a matrix of triumphs and defeats, optimism and despair, impassioned beliefs and crushing deflations.”
The question: What can we do about it?
The answer: Use it.
Between learning how to become comfortable with discomfort through practice, and learning how to use our anxieties as energy sources for our work, we will no longer feel powerless or out of control. We can’t change the world around us or the people in it (unfortunately), but we can learn how to use practice and anxiety as sources to fuel our work.
Think of it as writers’ jiu-jitsu—the principle of using an attacker’s energy against him.
Get out there and win!
***
What about you, scriveners? Do you feel pushed into your discomfort zone these days? Do you feel anxiety about your career? Are writers expected to do more than is healthy? Have you found ways to turn anxiety into creativity?***
BOOK OF THE WEEK
Because laughter is a great way to deal with the discomfort zone!
HUSBAND TRAINING SCHOOL (Strong, Savvy Women…And The Men Who Love Them Series, Book 3)
Robin Aguirre uses her Marine Corps know-how to help save other women’s marriages.
But will she ever find her own Mr. Right?
“Hilarious!” “Colorful characters, funny dialogue, and a quick pace.”
“Very well written, delightful and funny. Ms. Harris knows how to write humor.”
Available from All the Amazons
OPPORTUNITY ALERTS
The Golden Quill Awards. The theme is “Liberation.” $500 first prize. Short fiction, poetry and personal essay categories. Up to 1500 words for prose, 40 lines for poetry. Entry fee $15. Deadline September 15, 2017.
University of New Orleans Press Lab Prize. A prize of $1,000 and publication of your book-length manuscript by UNO Press for a short story collection or a novel. The selected manuscript will be promoted by The Publishing Laboratory at the University of New Orleans, an institute that seeks to bring innovative publicity and broad distribution to first-time authors $18 entry fee. Deadline August 15.
Writer’s Digest Popular Fiction Awards. Write Romance, Thriller, Crime, Horror, Science-Fiction, and Young Adult? Short fiction: 4,000 words or less. $20 fee. Grand prize $2500. Deadline October 16th, 2017
So do you write SciFi Short Fiction? Here are 3 Lists of Paying Publishers for SciFi Stories.
20 Literary Journals that publish new writers. Compiled by the good folks at Authors Publish magazine.
25 Publishers who accept unagented submissions for Young Adult books. Also form Authors Publish, a great resource.
Aesthetica Creative Writing Award Two prizes of £1,000 each and publication in Aesthetica. Winners also receive a consultation with literary agency Redhammer Management. Up to 40 lines of poetry ($15 fee), 2000 words for short fiction ($24 fee.) Deadline August 31.
Some great resources there at the end! Thanks.
That’s probably why I haven’t written and finished a full novel in over two years. Or maybe I just got behind and it became uncomfortable to move forward again. Proof that you have to stay in the groove I guess.
Alex—Thanks! As to why you haven’t written/finished a novel recently (and, I assume, want to), are you procrastinating? Blocked? Bored? Figuring out the exact problem is part way (at least) to the solution. 🙂
I agree with Alex. Some very good links. I just checked out The Writer’s Store. Look forward to reading the Stulberg article as well as some of the other resources. Ruth, you always pack your articles with great resources. Thank you both for the shout out. I should paint a sign on my forehead, “Novellas Are Us.” 🙂 All the best, Paul
Paul—Of course you’d want an elegant font for that sign on your forehead! Something classic, contemporary? Italic or bold? Title case, all caps or small caps? Do let us know!
It really makes me think, to hear this good advice and specifically to dwell on the difference in control (100% writing, 0% marketing). It’s the truth, even when an author becomes good at it they don’t truly gain control, they simply become adroit at navigating the maze. Praise to them.
I still get to guest lecture sometimes at a local school and it struck me that there’s a big similarity there. I prep for class and right up through the presentation I am in complete control. It’s my creation- students may ask questions but it’s my job to anticipate those and be ready with my answer (just as with a good tale).
So where’s the zero percent control? When those kids take my test and I see how much they’ve actually retained! It’s the troll reviews, the agent rejections, the damp-squib marketing all in one; and of course since it’s school it’s much more important than just one of my stories doing poorly. I hate seeing below-potential scores from a student because it means I did a bad job. Calm, calm, that’s the deal. And think three times before doing the same lesson the next year. Constant improvement, nothing wrong with that whether writing or in any creative/performance endeavor.
Will—Do the kids zap you face to face or do you get a report card just like they do? Aaaaargh! Definitely constant improvement is something we can control.
Ruth, I take it personal, that’s the point! Teachers do, in a sense get a report card in that way.
Ruth, I particularly like your point about control. How we have complete control over our creative work as we are writing it, and then have absolutely no control over it once it hits the public. So astute!
One of the main drivers of my writing career (26 years to date) is the fact that I do have unfettered control of my characters and plots, unlike the reality of my life. You’ve made me smile with this post!
Melodie—OMG! I made you smile? You just made my day! 🙂
Hi Ruth,
This is such a relevant and timely post. With everything that authors are currently struggling against, it’s good to read something which tries to put some calm back into the chaos!
Hi Mark, Thanks for the kind & flattering words. Feeling overwhelmed is debilitating. I’ve been feeling that way recently, know that lots of my friends do, too. I was looking for ways to sanely work through the difficulties when I came upon the concept of learning to get comfortable with discomfort. Thought the way athletes handle discomfort was interesting—and doable. Hope it helps!
Hi Ruth,
And amidst all that discomfort, I surprise myself with a satisfying word count.
Another great post with interesting pointers and links.
Jacqueline—Thanks! Writing well *is* the best revenge, isn’t it?
I thoroughly enjoyed this post. It truly IS a scary profession. Writing is easier (to me) than what comes AFTER the writing, i.e. marketing, promo, etc. I had no idea until I got into this thing. Not that I want “out”, but geez…..
Patricia—Thanks! Hope the post helped at least a little. Publishing is a business and, like all business, it isn’t easy. Tell me if you hear of one that is? LOL
Ha! A great therapeutic read — now I can be pleased all my novel-length manuscripts are on my digital shelf instead of out there in the world for sale! One must look for silver linings, eh?
Hi CS—Thanks! Silver linings are always welcome! 🙂
Thanks for this uplifting post Ruth. We certainly could all use it. And now off to check out the links you’ve so kindly shared. 🙂
Hi dg—Thank *you*…Hope the links are rewarding. I love the idea of learning how to become (more) comfortable with discomfort since we all experience it. Even those of us who aren’t elite athletes. 😉
So true Ruth. We may as well learn to get comfortable, it’s a rocky ride. 🙂
Excellent and depressing presentation of all the crapola that we writers face. I have a, perhaps, unconventional approach to this mountain of factors working against us. Stop thinking of writing as a career. Think of it as something you love doing. If you don’t love it, don’t do it, or get a job where you can earn a wage at it, even if you have to do some other kind of writing than what you’d prefer. The list is long of creative writers who made their career/living as journalists or as teachers, or as …. It’s ever been thus for writers. If the list of negatives is longer now, it’s because the opportunities are broader. Just write, and bless every hour that you’ve spent writing.
Hi sk—Thank you for such a positive and very sensible approach. It’s a fact of life that publishing has always had high barriers to entry and brigades of lowlife trying to prey on writers. Plus ça change….
Very on point. That feeling of powerlessness is the worst. And the not-knowing why a promotion works sometimes and the next time it doesn’t. Frustrating.
Hi Susan—Thanks for the kind words and for making an excellent point about feeling powerless. And to add to your further point, why does a promo work well for author X but does nada for author Y WHO WRITES IN THE SAME GENRE???? Aaaaargh!
Thanks Ruth,
You and Anne are always so generous with your posts. You help us to stay creative, on track and sane!
Hi Christine—Thank *you*. Anne and I keep making mistakes and figure we might as well share the fall out. lol
I agree . Some very good links. I just checked out The Writer’s Store. Look forward to reading the Stulberg article as well as some of the other resources.
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koiseptember—Thanks! I hope some of the links are helpful. 🙂
If it wasn’t for anxiety I’d have no reason to write. 😀
Robert—LOL! Perfect! 🙂