Time for Alex J. Cavanaugh’s IWSG post. Join us the first Wednesday of every month as we ask for and help with each other with advice at https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html. Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the February 1 posting of the IWSG are Jacqui Murray, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Pat Garcia, and Gwen Gardner!

My Top 3 Writing Obstacles

1. Dwelling on the past. Cringing over bad work is a waste of time. I try to focus on writing enough good work to bury the bad. We all have a learning curve. The advice from others that it’s good to have bad work out there and see how we’ve improved is of little comfort when it’s out there. The internet is forever and technological change is exponential. I remind myself that I’m not important enough to care and to stay present.

2. Anxiety about the future. Carving out time for writing when life gets in the way can feel as impossible as letting go of the compulsion to keep writing and ignore life around you. Overthinking and anxiety about what lies ahead isn’t helpful. Again, I try to stay present.

3. Project completion (lack of). I’m sitting on 2 manuscripts, including my master thesis I received my MFA for. There. I said it. My thesis is a noir mystery set in North Beach with a plot line and character arcs relevant to San Francisco today. The head of the department picked through and edited the work. I’ve been encouraged to submit to City Lights. It’s autobiographical and deeply personal. I have a dazzling array of excuses, but to be fair City Light’s submission process is insane.

What are your writing obstacles? I always return comments, though it might take a day or two. Happy IWSG day!