R = Resources and support systems
Being a creative infopreneur and writer has its share of frustrations and times when you just want to pull your hair out. Sometimes one of the biggest problems creative writers can face is the feeling of being alone, with no-one supporting you. Most writers will work from home and mightn’t have the support of a network in an office environment, like the majority of workers.
It’s extremely frustrating to know you are on a deadline for a client (and that client can be you!) and yet you have a ment
al blank and can’t seem to get the words out onto the computer screen.
Every successful creative writer will also experience days like this.
However, the most successful writers will also know the resources to utilize when things get tough. Here is a list of the best three types of support resources writers can have.
Website Forum
One of the best resources for writers to combat feeling alone is to join a website forum devoted to writers and infopreneurs. Whenever you feel alone or frustrated, you can contact others who will understand, and may even be able to offer some advice to help you over the hard times.
Even reading over some of the other forum comments will help you to realize that you are not alone in the industry. You are not the only writer to experience mental blocks and to sit staring at a blank computer screen willing words to come.
Coach or Mentor
A coach or a mentor is more common in business, but writers can use this kind of resource too. There are two types of mentors. One is the mentor who is from another industry but who can give you support and great advice about what you are working on.
Sometimes book publishers will act as mentors to their writers for example. A book publisher is not a writer and will often have a different perspective on writing than a creative author, however, sometimes this different perspective can really help. Other sources of mentors are business trainers and personal coaches who support and encourage the writer in making wise business decisions and in their personal lives to get their minds in the right place to write successfully.
The second type of mentor is someone else who is in the same industry, for example another creative writer. You need to find someone who is successful and who has rather more experience than yourself. An editor may act as a mentor for a creative writer, and will give the writer support, encouragement and help in editing and making the writing itself better.
So, how do you find a mentor? You need to network as a writer to find someone you feel comfortable with. Many community groups have small business networks and this can be a great place to start to find a mentor outside of the writing industry. This can be especially important if you are running your business from home.
Chatting with other authors on internet forums may lead to building a mentoring relationship. Attending workshops, writer’s festivals and other key networking functions in the industry is a great way of making contacts with other authors and people with an interest in the creative writing industry.
Writing Magazines and Websites
There are a number of great magazines and websites that are aimed at those in the creative writing industry. You may find that simply doing a search on “writing tips” through the internet search engines such as Google will give you leads and pointers to websites devoted to writers. Often the articles in these types of magazines and websites address the problems that creative writers can face and will offer various tips and ways of overcoming the common writer obstacles.
The most important thing for a writer who is experiencing frustration is to realize you are not the only one who has ever felt this way. Utilizing these support structures will enable you to get the encouragement, fresh perspective and help you need to get back to writing successfully.
