The Insecure Writer’s Support Group: Are You a Risk-Taker when Writing?

The Insecure Writer’s Group is an organization of writers offering support and camaraderie in the challenging and oftentimes terrifying world of writing. This is my first time participating in the blog hop, and I would like to begin by saying thank you to the organizers for creating this group and to the hosts for hosting this event. I am definitely an insecure writer so I was really grateful to find out this group existed. If you’re interested in signing up for a future event you can do that here.

“Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!”

This month’s question is the following: “Are you a risk-taker when writing? Do you try something radically different in style/POV/etc. or add controversial topics to your work?”

I guess I’ll begin by saying that for me, just hitting publish on a blog post feels like a gigantic risk. I am hugely introverted about my writing, to the point where I often hide my work from family and friends. My reluctance to share my work has strained relationships in my life, because people feel like I don’t trust them enough to allow them to take part in my creative process. I’ve written a lot about this subject, but it’s definitely in the top 5 of biggest challenges for me not just as a writer but as a person. As an individual with anxiety/OCD, writing is an incredible outlet. On the flipside, it is also an incredible stressor. Keeping the two sides balanced is important to me, and I’ll admit sometimes the stress really does pile up until it threatens to topple over and crush me. In those times, I just have to take a step back and give myself some grace. Going outside, meditating, drinking a really good coffee, those are the things that help me gain perspective and center myself again for the writing, editing, and most difficult of all (for me) sharing process. Because let’s be honest, taking something deeply personal to you and offering it up for scrutiny to anyone, even if it’s someone close to you, is hard. Being an anxious person just adds another fun layer of icing on the cake.

Aside from the inherent risk of writing, I would say there are aspects of my work itself that I consider a little risky. The biggest thing that comes to mind are my choice of characters. I really gravitate to underdog characters, who are a little unconventional and honestly don’t fit in with a lot of people’s ideas of a hero/heroine. The choices they make throughout my work are not always the boldest, the most heroic, or the most decisive. Most of the time they do the best they can in a series of tough situations, and it’s important to me that they stay true to who they are, even if they never really become that superhero all on their own. I sort of like them that way, simply because it reminds me of real life, and it reminds me a little of my own life. I’ll get there eventually, but I don’t always arrive in style.

As far as controversial topics, nope I stay away from them. I spend enough time getting yelled at by my family for not letting them read my work (haha). Besides this I’m a very non-controversial person. 🙂

Are you a risk-taking writer? What are some of your biggest writing insecurities? Share below!