If you are a shy writer, this is not necessarily a death sentence. It doesn’t mean that you always have to stay shy and introverted. However, it does mean that you will have to do things differently if you are to excel as a writer and to be the best and most productive that you can be.
Here are a few ways to overcome shyness:
1. Start slow
Don’t think that you will overcome your shyness in a day or a week. Instead, plan to do a few things differently for the next few months that will stretch you and help you become less shy. You may want to:
• Apply for a contest;
• Send out a query a month;
• Join a critique group that you could meet on a weekly or monthly basis in person;
• Talk to other writers (in person);
• Resist sitting in your office and writing alone all the time—go to a café or library instead;
• Tell people who you are a writer, and celebrate your career.
2. Don’t expect immediate results
It took you a lifetime to become the shy person that you are. So, don’t expect that you will get over it just like that. It will take time, and you will slide backwards a lot. But if you do even a few things differently, you will feel much more confident and less shy as time goes on.
3. Talk to other shy writers
Most writers are shy and introverted. Shy writers are drawn to writing. But the successful writers—ones that are productive AND published have found ways to send out their manuscripts and to work through their shyness instead of being paralyzed by it. They have discovered ways to overcome their shyness by actually doing some of the thing that they need to in order to be published authors.
4. Realize that you’re not alone
Since many writers are shy, it is easy to meet shy writers. Just go to a writer’s conference. You will be able to chat with other published writers authors AND you will be able to find out how they actually got over some of their shyness and began thriving in their writing career. This can be very powerful and inspiring.
By taking these steps, you will be overcoming your shyness as a writer, one day and one small step at a time. In no time, you will be feeling much more self-confident and less shy.
If you are a shy writer, you should read this very important book by C. Hope Clark
http://www.amazon.com/Shy-Writer-Reborn-Hope-Clark-ebook/dp/B00DAMP9UQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405098505&sr=1-1&keywords=the+shy+writer+reborn
Try it!
Irene S. Roth
Author, Freelance Writer
Irene Roth's Fearless Writer's Blog 