Five Writing Nemeses that Every Writer Faces

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

Happy belated New Year. 2024.

I enjoy changing the calendar page, whether to a new month or a new year. There’s something hopeful about flipping over to an empty page, full of potential. What will the coming weeks and months bring? What blessings does God have in store?

Over the last few months, we’ve looked at several ways writers are superheroes. And I hope to continue that. But today, at the start of this new year, I want to warn about some nemeses we will face.

A nemesis as a formidable opponent. An early lesson a writer learns is if you want to write a strong protagonist, you need to have a stronger antagonist. To get the reader to admire your hero or heroine, they need to be stretched to their limits.

I think life pulls this off sometimes a little too well.

5 Nemeses Writers Face

1. Not gifted/smart/talented/educated/good enough 

You’re just not enough. This is the first hurdle many writers run into. When we compare ourselves to the experts, the pros, the real writers, well, we just don’t measure up. 

Recently, I was with a friend, and she was saying how she didn’t have enough education to be a writer. Our table companion with multiple published works and awards said she didn’t either. She learned what she needed to know and pushed through. 

Writing is like something from Ikea. It comes in pieces you get to put together. With power tools you have to learn how to use. With pieces that require painting or sanding. The first effort might end up in the trash. But the potential, as you learn to use the tools and the material, may surprise you. 

The answer. Realize there are steps you need to learn and invest the time it takes. 

2. Procrastination 

I’ll get to that later. 

3. The Muse

This one is sneaky. We think of our muse as a friend and an ally. And our muse can often be fun when an idea pop into our heads and you and the muse work out a story.

The problems come when you become dependent on the muse. Because muses are fickle things. Any squirrel or shiny thing will distract them.

We often call this writer’s block, and the writer will beat themselves up because they know they are the only terrible human who has felt this way.

Let me let you in on a secret; all writers go through this. If you wait on the muse, you never know when it will show up. But if you take your seat at your laptop, or pick up your pen, it will soon show up.

Like William Faulkner said, “I only write when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it strikes at nine every morning.”

The answer. Show up. Your muse will follow.

4. Doubt

Ooo, this is a big one. And it often teams up with the others. It comes in many shapes, and it will return no matter where you are on your writing journey. (What? You thought you could defeat these, and they would go away? You’re so sweet.)

We often call it imposter syndrome. It’s when we look around the table or room and think that we don’t belong. They’re talking about antagonists, some three-act structure something, and genres and we need a translator. 

Edie Melson equates learning all that a writer needs to drinking water out of a fire hose. It’s overwhelming. But the secret is it’s overwhelming for everyone. There is so much to know. And it’s different at every stage. And it’s constantly changing. And, yes, you shouldn’t use so many ands.

Answer. When doubt threatens to overwhelm, step back, take a breath. Maybe ask a friend or take a class. Realize being a writer demands a lifetime of learning.

5. Failure

This is one of the ultimate nemeses. It takes no prisoners. What makes it fascinating is that we define it and give it all its power. 

We may face it when a friend, a critique partner, or an agent doesn’t think our first draft is Nobel Prize worthy. Or a publisher turns it down. Or we don’t win a prize. We label ourselves a loser, a failure. Labels we would never use on anybody else. 

Answer. I found my notes to the 2014 Novelist Retreat at Ridgecrest. It was my first year of attending conferences. Alton Gansky, then the director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Cristian Writers Conference, said, “It’s all right to quit as a writer, just don’t stay quit.”

We need to remember that writing is a journey of growth. Not a climb up the mountain to be the best. But a journey through life to grow, to encourage, to help people relate to others. To learn to tell stories only we can tell. And to recognize that there are still stories to be told, but you're not prepared yet.

There are more nemeses that I need to warn you about. And I still haven’t gotten to procrastination. (I will later.) Even though each of these is a different type of struggle, none of them needs to be lethal. We all have the power and ability to fight through. By breaking through these struggles and bringing others with us, we show what makes writers superheroes.

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Five Writing Nemeses that Every Writer Faces from @TimSuddeth on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Tim Suddeth is a stay-at-home dad and butler for his wonderful, adult son with autism. He has written numerous blogs posts, short stories, and three novels waiting for publication. He is a frequent attendee at writers conferences, including the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and a member of Word Weavers and ACFW. He lives near Greenville, SC where he shares a house with a bossy Shorky and three too-curious Persians. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter, as well as at www.timingreenville.com and www.openingamystery.com.