A lot of the myths about writing can drain a writer of emotional energy and be detrimental to the creative process. It’s time to jettison some of the deeply held myths about writers and writing and become happier and better at what we do.

• The ‘Real Writer.’

‘I’m not a real writer.’ This myth pervades perhaps more than any other one. It is something that anyone who writes needs to stop thinking. Being a writer isn’t some exclusive club.

If you put down word following word on a page, revise your work, accept constructive criticism and praise, guess what? You’re a writer. Accept it. When you do accept this fact, those insecurities about your writing will start to fade and you can commit to the process fully.

Try this – write down the reasons you tell yourself, or others, why you’re not a real writer. Seeing them in black and white (or a font colour of your choice!) will help to demonstrate just how ridiculous they are. When you’ve done this, go and write something, anything, from the heart.

• ‘The Suffering Artist.’

Suffering is not a necessity to be a creative writer. You’ve had a good upbringing from a happy home. It’s all good. We all experience emotions. At some point in our lives, we’ve experienced them all. Think back and you’ll see the truth in this. The majority of the basic material that a writer needs to rely on is gathered by the late teen years.

The perpetuation of this false belief of suffering is galling. Don’t buy into it. JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter whilst on benefits. Truth – she was earning more money on those benefits than I was at the time in full time employment.

On a scientific basis, dopamine – the happy-clappy chemical released in the brain – is conducive in triggering creativity. Neuroscientists have also discovered that a positive emotional state is better for productivity and concentration.

You can still be a tortured soul, you just don’t have to be!

Try this – Whilst we want conflict in our stories, we don’t need to create it in our personal lives to get it on the page. We are not our characters, but we do know how they feel. Channel this onto the page, not into your life. Pick a character, a situation, and an emotion, and write.

• ‘The Muse.’

This one may be a little controversial! It is counterproductive – maybe even a little delusional – to speak of a muse as if they are real. It’s not much different from believing in Father Christmas.

On a serious note, even referring to the muse like this as lip service can be detrimental and negatively influence our behaviour in real ways.

Some moments of inspiration seem to come as a bolt from the blue, almost like a supernatural force guiding the writer but playing into this can diminish the writer’s capacity to take inspiration from more ‘earthly’ sources.

Rather, pay more attention to what is happening around you, the setting, the sounds, the people that spark your curiosity. Trust in this creative process even when you feel uninspired. Revise, revise, and revise is where the real work is done in moulding a piece of writing to its most perfect state, not some supernatural entity providing the means.

Creativity exists inside of us as an extension of what we already know. All behaviour and ideas are generative and build upon what has come before.

Try this –

React to the first thing you notice and describe it concretely (take just a minute or two).

Respond to what you noted down. What did it conjure up  a memory, a person, a story? (take five minutes.)

Synthesise your thoughts quickly. Write down a takeaway, an epiphany, or question evoked from your writing.

• ‘The Shitty First Draft.’

I dislike the concept of shitty first drafts. It’s a negative way of working. It’s true that a first draft may be miles away from a finished product, but so what? The first draft’s purpose is to open up the creative channels; to capture ideas; to discover. Don’t give it a derogatory name. it’s like calling a baby a crappy human because it isn’t an adult yet!

It's more productive to honour that first draft for what it is. A start. A font of creativity. It doesn’t matter but treat it with respect. If you disparage your own work from the outset, it can be difficult to elevate it later on. It can slow down the process and take the fun out things.

Try this – get an old first draft and have a look at it. Ignore what doesn’t work, or what is missing. Look for the potential; the sentences which work. Look for things to amplify, that creativity and spark. Remember, this was the beginning of something.

• ‘Brutal Honesty.’

Ah, the FanStory classic. Even if folk ask for this, they don’t really mean it. Brutal honesty is never a worthwhile endeavour when giving or seeking feedback, unless you’re looking for savagely violent!

All critique needs to be handled sensitively. It’s not an attack and should not contain emotive words or rudeness. Honesty balanced by tact is the best way to go.

If truth be told, most writers are confused, set back, or crushed when their work gets trashed. It isn’t because they are weak or can’t handle constructure criticism. It’s because brutal honesty shuts the door on dialogue and effective communication.

Try this – recognise the distinction between brutal honesty and constructive feedback. The first use emotive terms such as ‘this sucks’, ‘start over’, ‘you can’t’. The latter focuses on specific weaknesses or issues. It should point out strengths as well to provide the writer with both insight and perspective on what to look out for and what to develop further.