by Nathan Higgins

Created on: November 20, 2009   Last Updated: November 21, 2009

Tell self-doubt: "Good-bye!" and get ready to become a 'real writer'.

Many would-be writers start out strong, with all sorts of hopes and ambitions for their writing.

But, what happens? Gazing up at the towering peak of their mountain-high aspirations, these would-be writers become immobilized. Instead of getting down to the business of actually writing, they get lost in the sheer immensity of their goals. Fears and personal insecurities set in, and these would-be writers begin to worry: "What will people think about my writing? Will they like what I have to say? Will anyone even read it, let alone... pay me for it?"

With thoughts like these clouding their minds, often - right from the outset, these would-be writers find themselves in serious trouble. Before any kind of possibility exists to become a 'published' or a 'critically acclaimed' or even a 'best-selling' writer, these would-be writers need to first do the most basic thing that every writer does: They need to write!

Does the above description fit you? If your personal self-doubts have induced a state of 'writer's block', if your high aspirations and goals leave you stumbling around at the base of the mountain, then you need to find ways to get around the blockage and to start climbing. If you want to become a real writer, you need to push your self-doubts aside and take concrete steps - small or large - toward becoming a 'writing' writer - a writer who actually puts words down onto a page.

One way to get around "self-doubt induced writer's block" is to simply start off by writing 'anything'. Prove to yourself that you actually 'can' write. Prove to yourself that you can put words down onto a page.

In this 'write anything' scenario, you will initially want to block out all thoughts about your audience, publication, royalties, etc. For this moment, don't write for anyone else. (All of that will come later, as you gain experience and confidence in the writing process.) For now, focus on yourself, on the pen, and on the piece of paper that sits in front of you. Simply write for the sake of writing. Simply write to fill pages and build a collection of writing files.

Here are a few ideas to get the ink flowing:

* Write a paragraph about today's weather. (Keep a weather journal in which you describe the weather each day.)

* Write a page describing what you did today - where you went, what you did, what you ate, how you felt, etc. (Start keeping a personal activities journal.)

* Interview a friend or relative

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