As I’ve talked about before in previous posts, I’ve had trouble with writer’s block and submissions block, which is why I like to post about them in the hopes of helping some other writer down the road.
The writer’s block problem I was able to successfully deal with a couple of years ago.
My final steps in dismantling submissions block only happened about a month ago. Until then, I could count the number of submissions I’d done to fiction editors over my entire life on my fingers (no toes needed). This blockage continued for years despite getting requests to see more of my work from former editors at Asimov’s and Tor. Instead I ran away as fast I could.
The truth of the matter is that I had a phobia about showing my work to other human beings, and until it was dealt with, I wasn’t going to go anywhere.
In the end, it took what psychologists call “desensitization.” Like someone afraid of spiders, I had to to develop a detailed campaign to slowly dismantle the submissions block.
And so I did. I started this blog as a way to deal with the problem, and as the block fades away, I suspect this blog will change. I fell silent here for almost two months as I dealt with the severe stress of getting queries out in an organized determined manner for the first time ever.
I find that rejection itself is okay, and I can deal with it fine. The mundane reality of rejections is much less frightening than the bizarre phobic fears I once had.
