Save Your Sanity and Avoid This ONE Life Mistake

Yep. You read that right. There is one thing... one life mistake... that takes a completely innocent person and destroys their sanity! I have been through this mistake myself and I'm still wondering if my sanity is still intact! What is this one life mistake you ask? Simple. The one mistake you must avoid if you want to save your sanity is becoming an author!

Yeah, okay, a bit of an exaggeration. Writing a book won't take your sanity, but it is a very taxing task. I should know. I've been working on writing a book for years. What exactly is it about writing a book that is so hard? Strap yourself in for the HORRORS of writing!

1. Writing What You're Passionate About

Sounds simple and easy, right? How is this horrifying? It's child's play. Or IS it? Let me tell you a story. I had this idea for a story that I came up with around middle school. By highschool, I decided to start writing it. This was going to be my first book, and it was going to be epic!

Then I checked out a book from the library, sat down in my cozy armchair with hot chocolate, and strapped myself in for a good read. And it was a good read. In fact, it was 80 percent identical to the book I was currently writing. My wall is still stained with the hot chocolate I spit out of my mouth at that moment.

My point is this. Even if you come up with something original, chances are, someone somewhere has come up with the idea, which means you would have to make some changes to your story to make it unique. But that takes a lot of effort and creativity, and I already had a draft of the book already. Too lazy to start that from scratch.

2. Nonfiction

Frightened yet? Brace yourself for more horrors.

The next horror is this: the terror of nonfiction. Now, if it is hard to come up with an original fiction story, then go for writing nonfiction, right? I mentioned earlier that you write what you're passionate about. Take that passion and write a good nonfiction book.

But is it really that simple? Unless your hobby or passionate is very unique or niche, chances are there are already plenty of books about your subject. If you don't read the other books, you'll be wondering if your book is too similar to someone else's. If you have read the others, you'll be comparing your work to the others. It's a lose-lose situation.

And if you're a guy like me, you have several hobbies or interests, so just picking one in and of itself can be hard.

3. Writer's Block

Any writer knows the horrors of this. Even the most creative writers go through phases when the rivers run dry. What happens when you suddenly find yourself unable to figure out what to write next. That was my problem with finishing my first book. It never got finished because I never knew how to end it. Well, that, and finding out that someone else did my idea.

There are ways to overcome writer's block, but unless you're determined enough to go that route, writer's block will probably end you. Writer's block is a monster determined to consume as many authors as it can. Beware!

Ok, so those 'horrifying' things aren't extremely scary. I exaggerated. But they are challenges that all writers face. But I do believe that despite these challenges, writing a book is worth it. That's why I am still writing my book. Once I finish it, I will look back on this blog post and smile at the challenges I overcame. Either that, or I will look back on this after failing, and go "Why didn't I heed my own warnings about writing?! Was I crazy?"

Only time will tell...