Does Your Body of Work Suffer from a Disorder? by Angie Powers

I don’t mean to be facile, but sometimes, writers think like anorexics. As artists or writers we too often view our body of work as an actual extension of ourselves, out there to be judged, critiqued and ultimately, to fail at someone else’s idea of beauty. And that belief can lead to some damaging ways of thinking.

Disclaimer: Anorexia is a serious disorder, with a variety of complicated causes, and this exploration is in no way meant to downplay the tragedy of the disorder. What it is meant to do is look at some pervasiveness of thought that writer’s block might share with anorexia inorder to uncover some new paths for struggling writers.

Here are list of some psychological markers for anorexia:

• Body dissatisfaction
• Low self-esteem
• Difficulty expressing feelings
• Perfectionism
• Troubled family relationships

If we consider these things in a writing context, do you see how we might find ourselves similarly blocked? How we might wither the writing body we could be creating in favor of one that not only doesn’t exist, but can’t exist? Let’s run through some thinking processes that hold us back.

Body dissatisfaction – For writers this would mean looking at what you’ve created and fail to see “what works.” Elizabeth does a great job in workshops making sure that those parts of a piece that work also receive acknowledgement. Do you offer that to yourself or are you always seeking out what doesn’t work so you can fix it?

Low self-esteem – Two words for you and they are “rejection.” How do you handle someone not liking what you’ve written? Or not not liking it, but not having a home for it? Do you take the rejection of a piece as a rejection of you or as a natural part of a writer’s life?


Difficulty expressing feelings – I think writers have no difficulty expressing their negative feelings toward their work; what they do have is difficulty putting themselves out on the page 100%, to sing out to God and all their own particular true voice. This is, of course, the one place that moves any work from adequate to artistry. Are you there on your page?

Perfectionism – Does your need to be perfect prevent you from completing things? Does it make you give up on a piece that is *this* close, only because it won’t be just what you had hoped? Does it make you stay with a piece too long because that one piece alone will define you?

Troubled family relationships – Do you depend on the approval of others to keep you going and get angry or defensive when others aren’t as excited as you? Do you get mad at folks in your workshop for “not getting it”? Or worse, take some jackass’s comments so deeply to heart that you decide to jettison the whole project?

Let’s be clear: no one is going to die from this kind of writing anorexia. People do die from the real anorexia. What does die for the writer suffering in this way? Hope. Dreams. Ambition.
 So, what are some approaches for dealing with real anorexia that can help with our writing kind?

Admit you have a problem. You’ve been struggling with this for a long time. Often times we do it alone or assume suffering is the natural way of being a writer. How many times have we read quotes where writing is equated with some kind of bloodletting or drinking binge? If that’s how you view writing, you’ll never build up your body.

Talk to someone. We all secretly know that our writing isn’t as important to anyone else as it is to us. Yet, breaking through the shame we feel for wanting what we want is practice in bringing ourselves fully to the page. Break your silence to break your block.

Stay away from people, places, and activities that trigger your obsession with perfection. Do you have writing buddies? If so, are they the kind that kvetch about writing, or work diligently and produce? Are they the kind that have compassion for themselves and model a blue collar work ethic that eschews perfectionism over process? If not, it’s time to find a different group of buddies.

Seek professional help. The advice and support of trained professionals can move you through internal thinking patterns that limit your body of work. When it comes to your body of work, it’s time for you to accept, “big is beautiful.” And that can be hard to do on your own. Obviously, we at the BWW have courses and coaching to help with that, but we’re not the only ones. Find a coach who inspires you to grow, to be big, to take up room. That’s the kind of support you deserve.

Do you recognize yourself in any of these descriptions? What strategies have you used to get yourself through?