7 Signs Perfectionism Is Keeping You from Writing Your Novel
You’ve always wanted to write a novel, but could a perfectionist mindset be holding you back?
“There’s a significant difference between perfectionism and healthy striving or striving for excellence. Perfectionism is the belief that if we do things perfectly and look perfect, we can minimize or avoid the pain of blame, judgment, and shame.”
If you’re struggling to write a novel, I can promise you this: it’s not because you’re not smart or talented enough to write a novel. It’s also probably not because you’re not creative or motivated enough.
If your biggest dream is to write a novel, but you don’t seem to be able to do it, the problem might be perfectionism.
Perfectionism is a mindset that keeps us stuck out of fear that we’ll attempt to achieve our goals and fail. But if you really want to write a novel, you have to understand how perfectionism is manifesting in your process and what you can do to move past it. That is possible.
Perfectionism might be:
Uncertainty about your story idea
Confusion or overwhelm about the writing process (writing a novel is not like writing anything else!)
Procrastination or avoidance
Self-doubt
In fact, for me, it was all of the above! I was trapped in a perfectionist mindset, believing that I had to pick the “right” idea and write it perfectly on the first try. And when I couldn’t do that (no one can), I would procrastinate and avoid writing for fear of discovering that I couldn’t write a novel. I thought that if the process didn’t come easily to me, I wasn’t meant to do this work.
Sound like you?
The good news is that I’ve been able to change my mindset and my approach to write with more confidence and clarity. And I want to help you get there, too. If perfectionism is keeping you stuck, don’t worry—it’s just a series of habits that you can change! But it’s a process that involves understanding what’s holding you back and why, and then breaking down old habits and building new ones.
The first step is to get my guide to the 7 Signs Perfectionism Is Keeping You from Writing Your Novel. It explains:
What perfectionism is
What it isn’t
How it shows up in your writing
And how you can begin to change
Then I recommend coaching through your story planning and drafting process so I can help you with a customized writing plan and mindset coaching while also guiding you to write a compelling novel.
7 Signs Perfectionism Is Keeping You from Writing Your Novel
