Two parts Perfectionism, One part Stagefright
Tuesday, June 20th, 2006That’s the evil, paralyzing mix that I fell under the influence of today. I suspect it hits all writers and bloggers, in varying amounts, from time to time.
Perfectionism plagues me constantly, whether I’m writing or revising my novel, Consumption (which is ready for an agent’s eyes now), or more recently, when I’ve started blogging. Perfectionism is familiar to me, but today’s level of stagefright was something new.
This morning, I spent time browsing through the multitude of other blogs out there. While it was great to see more of this massive online community, I started feeling panicky. Immobile. Wordless. Like a little girl suddenly being thrust onto a talent show stage and then freezing there, silent and still, blinded by the spotlight. I felt stuck in front of an invisible and unknown audience.
To move past the fright, I asked myself, “How can I reframe this?” And then, it came to me. I realized that the blogosphere is really just made up of many audiences of one. And who’s afraid of one?
So, tonight, it’s just you and me. We’re each just hanging out at a computer. Remembering that, I can relax and just type.
Hey, I’m even breathing. Typing and breathing. Typing and breathing. That’s not so hard.
So my dear quasi-singular, amorphous reader, thanks for listening.
And please feel free to say hi to me in the comments section — I’m really not too scary, and I’ve had all my shots.
June 24th, 2006 at 10:55 am
Hi!
I know what you mean about stage fright. Sometimes I sit in front of my computer ready to blog, then I just… can’t. Same goes for articles I used to pass. What crazy people writers are. 
June 24th, 2006 at 10:55 pm
Hi Daisy!
Thanks for reassuring me that there are other writers out there who sometimes get too aware of our readers’ eyes.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts,
Cuileann