Cynthia Morris

I was in the car with a friend recently. She was gushing about an author and what a great writer she is.

While I, too, love great writing and appreciate great authors, in this moment, for some reason, my inner critic closed my heart. I felt jealousy and a sense of less-than.

“I don’t think I’m a great writer,” I confessed. She was shocked. She sees me as an accomplished writer with books and plenty of other writing under my belt.

It’s true that I am prolific. Even my inner critic can’t deny that. But I go dark side and don’t know how good I am. My clients face this, too. Accomplished authors feel this. It seems our communal, number one fear is: Will my writing be good enough?

The problem with good enough

The problem with our concern about whether our writing is ‘good enough’ is that ‘good enough’ isn’t a specific target. How, exactly, will we know when it is ‘good’? When someone else validates it? When someone else agrees to publish it? When we get paid or win an award?

Most of the writing I’ve done in 25 years hasn’t earned me the big bucks or garnered prestigious awards. But that doesn’t mean it’s not good.

I remember a day when I clarified what ‘good enough’ meant for me. I made the decision to self-publish my Paris novel Chasing Sylvia Beach. I realized I didn’t need someone in the publishing industry to approve and signal that it was a ‘breakout novel’. The power and self-acceptance I claimed felt so good.

I had the same feeling with my last book, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Writing a World-Changing Book. I wasn’t trying for ‘great writing’. I wasn’t aiming to be clever or demonstrate how ‘good’ I am as a writer. I was simply aiming for clarity so my readers would be inspired to take immediate action toward writing their own books.

Same happened with my podcast essays. I hoped to write honest, humorous and authentic essays. I wanted to move my listeners with stories that showed how we all face stumbling blocks in the creative process. At first I read books about how to ‘write funny’. And consumed storytelling books. And listened to others’ podcasts.

For sure, a certain amount of study of our craft is necessary. We can always improve. No matter how talented you are, your free writes will nee editing. Getting constructive feedback and practicing our craft is part of the game.

And, there comes a time when we have to shut off the hose of information and turn to our own deep well and write from there. When you have to trust that your writing is good enough. You have to relinquish control and release it into the world. It will or will not meet your readers in the way you hope.

I am fortunate that I spend a lot of time writing. This gives me a chance to both continue to work my craft and to let go of insecurities about whether the writing is ‘good’. As you see, these insecurities still arise.  But my definition of great writing has changed. It’s less about whether someone else is approving of it. My metric for good writing these days is whether I am being as honest and wholehearted as I can be. 

Over to you

If you live alongside the ‘good enough’ gremlin, I invite you to get clear on what ‘good’ is for you now. Do a free-write to clarify your own metrics for good writing. What does this spark in you? Leave a comment below let us know your relationship to ‘good enough’.

Do you ever feel ‘stuck’ with your writing? Like you just don’t ‘feel like it’ or doubt your words?

Sometimes when we think about writing, it’s like we’re asking ourselves to deep clean the refrigerator. Or drive two hours in rush hour traffic. Or some other onerous, cringe-worthy task.

What happened to the love?! We somehow forget that we want to do this writing thing.

This stuckness happens to all of us at some point. We face a creative wall and look for ways out. We like to think that external structures are the key to bringing out writing back.

We grasp for solutions like: Set a timer. Schedule it on the calendar. Get an accountability buddy. Take a class. Hire a coach.

And while those things absolutely can help, I suggest something adding something else to your get unstuck toolkit. Something deeper.

Start from the inside.

Bring the love to your writuals!

The next time you find yourself avoiding your writing, remind yourself that you actually want to do this. That you perhaps even enjoy writing. That it’s in your life because you want it to be, not because you are forced to do it.

I offer you one of my favorite writing prompts that has helped my clients recommit to their writing with more ease. This prompt can be used again and again. It can give you profound insights that could indeed banish your writer’s block to a faraway planet. Ready?

What I love about writing…

Set your timer for ten minutes and respond to this prompt. Let your heart lead your pen. See what comes up. Share your insights below.

Want to love writing with us? Join us for a five-week power group, Write ON. We begin soon!

People often ask me what is a ‘writers’ coaching group’? Many writing workshops are focused on the craft of writing. Accountability focuses on getting stuff done.

From what I have seen in my writing groups, if it were just a matter of scheduling writing time and showing up, it would be easy.

Writing, and other art forms, seem to bring a range of inner obstacles. “Do I really have something to say?” “Will my writing be good enough?” “Is it safe to write my truth?”

These are some of the issues that show up when we show up to do the writing. As a trained coach, I have specific skills to help not just show up and write, but see, explore and work through these issues that stop us. My intention is that the coaching work we do in our groups helps all members overcome the obstacles that have held us back.

You can see that answering those fears with ‘tips and tactics’ are just bandaids for deeper issues. Set a timer! Just do it! Get accountability! These are helpful in the short-term but don’t do enough to help someone become empowered to write anything, anytime.

Working with me either one:one or in a group is a way to finally develop skills to write what you want, when you want. Even when the old fears show up, you will know how to move forward.

Once, someone in my group said “What a bunch of whiners!” I was shocked – I don’t see us that way at all. I see the courage and fierce determination to show up ready, willing and able to address whatever is in the way.

So, while we sign up for ‘accountability’, what we really get in this group is a way forward with heart and soul. A way that allows us to respect and honor our creative impulse.

We have a few spots left in this potent writers’ coaching group Write ON, which starts on February 17th. Join us to write what you are meant to.

Claim your writing seat here.

When it comes to our creative and writing projects that aren’t immediately tied to our financial well-being, aka work, we sometimes struggle to truly commit. We cite lack of time as our #1 excuse for not writing that book or other creative project.

Of course! We are all busy with life and work and family. So it’s easy to believe 100% the idea that we don’t do our writing, creative work and passion project play because we don’t have time.

I assert that the only thing we do have is our time. We all have the same 24 hours to allocate to what matters to us. The choices we make reflect our priorities. And sure, survival and making a living is a priority.

Do you see yourself in this story?

I was recently talking to a friend about his writing projects. He writes a lot for work, and yet I know he harbors a desire to write creative, fictional projects. When I asked about whether those dreams were going to get air time this year, he sighed. Time, he said. I don’t have time.

I get it. He’s a super busy executive and dad. Yet later in our conversation we were talking about bedtime and whatnot, and he revealed that he stays up to midnight most nights. Wow! I said. What’s happening in those hours between ten and midnight? Nothing much, he shrugged. TV binge watching.

Yep, I get that! I, too, have fallen for the way TV shows and streaming services are designed to keep us glued to the tube. And being the coach that I am, I couldn’t help but think, hmmm…if you went to bed even an hour earlier, you could get up earlier and have that extra hour to write your passion projects.

But I didn’t tell him that. It’s not my business to coach friends or people who don’t raise their hand for it. And it’s also not my practice as a coach to tell people what I think would work for them.

My job is to help my clients and students discover the habits and practices that allow them to not defer their dreams until some faraway future date, say, when they retire. It’s my joy to help people use their natural resourcefulness and creativity to make the space they need for the writing projects they yearn to commit to.

What’s really going on?

Is lack of time your excuse? I suspect that we use this handy excuse to avoid what’s really going on. For example, I was coaching someone who was really fired up about their creative pursuits. She was psyched to have a creative project and set up some parameters to make sure she had studio time. But within a few weeks, work got busy and life stuff also played a role in nudging her commitment to herself to the side.

It would be easy to think this is a time management issue, or a true scarcity when it comes to available time.

When we explored this a bit more, we saw that she stopped going to the studio right about the time when she began doubting the point of doing her creative work. It wasn’t going to make her money necessarily. It wasn’t going to make her famous.

Spending time in her studio makes her happy. Enthusiastic. She feels a sense of herself and her own unique vitality when she made art. In these times, I believe we need all the joy we can get. And if we can generate our own sense of well-being and engagement through our creative work, I am all for it. So what if the world doesn’t pay you now – you are paying yourself by showing up for your own dreams.

If you are reading this and feeling a bit called out on your #1 excuse for not writing, well, good. I am not here to maintain the status quo. 

What a trained coach offers to the writing process

My work as a coach is to help you grow as a person. This is the difference between working with a writing coach who is actually a trained coach and not an editor, writer or teacher using the word ‘coach’ to describe their work. Those professionals have the goal to help their clients get their work written. And I do, too. However, I also know that truly transformational coaching that gets the job done isn’t solely about time and project management.

I believe that our creative pursuits offer an excellent path not simply to get things done, but to step more fully into our potential and our joy. 

With that in mind, ask yourself this: If time wasn’t my real reason for not writing, what does hold me back? Be honest and be kind when you give yourself this inquiry. It’s not intended to shame you or make you feel badly about yourself or your commitment. It’s to give you the chance to maybe make choices that reflect what’s true and deep in your world both inside and out.

What’s true for you? Share your thoughts below.