The Golden Pencil: The Freelance Writer’s Resource

Writers and Task Terror!

by Anne Wayman on July 20th, 2005

I learned a new term yesterday: Task Terror! It’s a great way to describe what happens, when faced with a big or tough job and we become, more or less immobilized. You know what I mean. It’s those times when we scrub the toilet rather than write.

I’m not talking about those times when we need to let an idea yeast in our subconscious – that’s a totally legitimate and even necessary part of writing. No, I’m talking about those times when we know what we need to do and just can’t seem to get it started. Task Terror!

My favorite solution to Task Terror is to simply open the document and write just one word. Maybe it’s the title, or what I suspect may be the first word of the opening sentence. Sometimes it’s the first or even second or third item on a list of what the article, book or other work will contain.

It doesn’t seem to matter exactly what I do; what’s important is that I do something. Taking action often puts Task Terror at bay.

Write well and often.

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POSTED IN: Musings From A Freelance Writer