creative writing describing anxiety

Crafting Authentic Anxiety Descriptions in Writing: A Comprehensive Guide

Putting emotions into words can be a tough task, especially when it’s something as complex as anxiety. You’ve likely been there, staring at a blank page, trying to capture the essence of a feeling that’s as elusive as it is powerful.

Writing about anxiety isn’t just about stating the facts. It’s about painting a picture that resonates with readers, making them feel what you’re trying to convey. This article will guide you through the process, providing you with the tools and techniques you need to accurately and effectively describe anxiety in your writing.

Stay with us as we delve into the intricacies of anxiety, exploring its various facets and how to best articulate them. By the end, you’ll be equipped to write about anxiety in a way that’s both authentic and compelling.

Understanding Anxiety

Before diving into how to describe anxiety in your writing, it’s crucial to understand what anxiety really is . Anxiety isn’t just a sense of worry or unease. It’s a complex beast, laced with multi-faceted layers, seeping into different corners of a person’s life and mind.

Anxiety doesn’t strike only in dramatic moments. Often, it’s a quiet monster – subtly showing up in mundane daily tasks. It creeps up when you’re making a cup of coffee, checking emails, or performing any of the countless tasks that may seem ordinary to others but may feel like a mountain to you when you’re dealing with anxiety. It catches you unawares, often when least expected.

Let’s look at some key points that are the hallmarks of anxiety. These are not the only symptoms but are common experiences for many dealing with anxiety. This understanding will help you while describing it in your writing.

Excessive worry : Chronic and persistent worry about everyday situations.
Restlessness : A feeling of being “on edge” or “unable to sit still”.
Easily fatigued : A constant state of tiredness, regardless of physical exertion.
Irritability : Quick to react or get angry over trivial issues.
Sleep issues : Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

Exploring these traits will help you inject authenticity into your portrayal of characters grappling with anxiety. It’s not about painting a dramatic image. It’s more about weaving these everyday experiences into your narrative. Your characters aren’t always trembling with fear.

Sometimes, your characters are just tired, irritable, or struggling to sleep. Sometimes, they’re caught in a vortex of relentless worry that clings even in the quietest moments. This closer look into the heart of anxiety will enable you to paint a picture that’s as real as it is raw.

In the following sections, we’ll delve deeper into practical techniques to describe anxiety effectively in your writing.

The Complexity of Emotions

Diving deeper into the quandary of describing anxiety in writing, you’ll encounter the larger picture – The Complexity of Emotions. Emotions aren’t easily boxed into specific labels. They’re intricate, layered, and often interrelated, transforming the task of tracing the contours of anxiety into a nuanced endeavor.

When writing about anxiety, you aren’t just detailing a singular emotion. Often, it’s a web of feelings like uneasiness, apprehension, dread, and more. Not only that, it’s about the physical sensations accompanying those feelings – a quickened heartbeat, a pit in the stomach, or tense muscles. This level of detail will enhance your depiction of anxiety, making it feel relatable and real.

However, let’s bring it to this premise: everyone experiences anxiety differently. A situation that makes one person anxious might not cause the same reaction in someone else. This is where subjectivity comes into play. The key isn’t to depict anxiety as how you presume others feel it; rather, it’s about illustrating how your characters experience it from their subjective perspective.

For instance, if a character fears public speaking, his anxiety might manifest as a racing heartbeat and a feeling of impending doom before stepping onto the stage. Conversely, if a different character fears abandonment, her anxiety could be demonstrated through insomnia ridden nights and a constant state of worry about her loved ones leaving her.

Let’s look at this from another angle: the perception or interpretation of anxiety is just as critical. Your character’s apprehension at being alone in a dark alley might seem ludicrous to another character who thrives in solitude and quiet. This contrast offers a compelling angle to your narrative, infusing it with multiple layers of understanding and empathy.

Remember, writing about anxiety means delving into its complexities and subtleties. It’s about reflecting its varying manifestations, implicating its physical and emotional aspects, and acknowledging its subjective nature. Appreciate the intricacies and present them to your readers, allowing them to empathize with your characters’ emotional journey.

Conveying Anxiety through Words

This journey takes a well-choreographed dance between the writer’s mind and their writing tool to portray the multifaceted nature of anxiety. When you’re doing this, it’s essential not to shy away from the dizzying mix of feelings, thoughts, and physical sensations associated with anxiety.

Diving right into the specifics, show, don’t just tell , is a critical rule to keep in mind here. Telling a reader that your character is anxious provides them with a foundational understanding. However, it’s showing them the churning stomach, the racing thoughts, the trembling hands, and the tight chest that really lures them in into empathizing with the character’s state of mind. Your narrative should aim to let a reader experience the anxiety alongside your character.

Let’s consider how word choice can play a significant role. Think about how you can utilize verbs, adjectives, and adverbs to your advantage. For example, instead of simply writing “he was anxious”, why not paint a more vivid picture? “His eyes darted around the room nervously, hands trembling like leaves buffeted by the autumn wind, heart pounding as if trying to break free from his chest.” This provides a deeper, more intimate view into the character’s emotional state.

Additionally, metaphors and similes are handy tools. Using these can create imagery that resonates with readers, allowing them to understand the severity and overwhelming nature of anxiety. Comparisons can make an abstract concept more tangible.

Nevertheless, it’s crucial to remember that anxiety isn’t a one-size-fits-all experience. It varies greatly from person to person. To authentically depict this reality, you should vary your descriptions, tailoring them to your unique characters’ perspectives and experiences. Crafting these descriptive details might take some time and thought, but this intricate process is what will make your narrative relatable and believable.

In the end, the purpose of conveying anxiety through words is to breathe life into your writing. Seamless integration of realistic descriptions can make your narrative more compelling, pulling the reader more in-depth into your story. But keep in mind, even if there’s no perfect way to pen anxiety, your aim should be to create a picture that’s authentic, relatable, and resonant. Let your characters’ anxiety be as nuanced and complex as it is in real life. Write with empathy and let your words reflect the reality of those struggling with anxiety.

Using Vivid Descriptions

You’ve grasped the concept, now let’s delve deeper into how to execute those vivid descriptions that truly capture the essence of anxiety. Remember, your aim isn’t just to tell your readers about anxiety – you want them to feel it, see it, and derive a true understanding of what it means.

Begin by honing in on the physical sensations that often accompany anxiety. How does an anxious person feel? Does their heart pound like a bass drum? Does their skin erupt with cold sweat, shivers cascading down their spine? Does it feel like a concrete slab pressing on the chest? These physiological responses are universal, and therefore, by incorporating them into your writing, it makes the depiction of anxiety more relatable.

Next, you must invest thought into the mental aspect of anxiety. It’s as vital as the physical, if not more. What goes on in an anxious mind? Is it a whirling maelstrom of worries, a ticking time bomb of impending doom, or an incessant echo of negative thoughts? Don’t hesitate to use powerful metaphors and similes. They draw readers into the character’s mind, allowing them to experience their llived reality.

Remember the uniqueness of your character . Each person experiences anxiety differently. Link these descriptions to aspects of their life. Tailor the depiction of anxiety to suit your character’s background, personality, and predicament. A brave firefighter will perceive anxiety differently from a timid teenager. Ensure your descriptions reflect this variation.

Creating an Emotional Connection

You’re not just writing about anxiety; you’re aiming to create an emotional bond between your reader and your characters. Authenticity in your description is the key to achieving this.

Empathy is what you’re striving to evoke. Place yourself in your characters’ shoes and dig deep into their emotions and psychological state. This immersion will provide you with genuine and compelling descriptions. But how can you craft such vivid portrayals?

Make it Personal

Being personal doesn’t mean that you have to share your own experiences explicitly. It means transforming universal feelings of anxiety into unique character-experienced emotions and events. It’s about understanding that each character’s anxieties are unique to them.

So, imagine your character: What are their fears, what are their triggers? Now, mold those elements into your narrative.

Show, Don’t Tell

The well-trodden advise, “show, don’t tell,” definitely holds validity here. Instead of stating your character is anxious, show it. Make your reader feel the character’s heartbeat quicken, their palms get sweaty, let them hear the rush of confused thoughts.

Making use of strategic metaphors and similes here will allow your reader to visualize and empathize with your character’s experience.

Highlight the Contrast

Animate the difference between the character’s calm state and anxious state. This will make the portrayal of anxiety drastic and hard-hitting. Drawing this contrast will underline the real impact of anxiety, capturing reader’s attention and creating a lasting impression.

Remember, the goal is not to simply describe an anxious state but to make your reader feel it, empathize with it, and understand it through your character’s perspective. The more real your portrayal, the deeper the emotional connection will be.

You’ve learned the art of describing anxiety in writing. You now understand the power of authenticity, the importance of personalizing your character’s fears, and the effectiveness of showing rather than telling. You’ve grasped the significance of sensory details and strategic use of metaphors and similes. Remember, contrasting calm with anxiety can create a lasting impression. Now it’s your turn to bring anxiety to life in your writing, making your reader feel and understand it from your character’s perspective. The journey may be challenging, but the result is worth it. Your writing will be more relatable, more engaging, and more impactful. So, go ahead, apply these insights and watch your characters come alive on the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can an author establish an emotional bond between readers and characters.

Authors can build an emotional bond by creating genuine descriptions of the characters’ emotional states, particularly their anxieties. This can be done by understanding each character’s unique fears and triggers, and presenting these emotions authentically.

What is the role of authenticity in writing about a character’s anxiety?

Authenticity is crucial in writing about a character’s anxiety. Realistic and relatable descriptions can evoke empathy in the reader, making them connect more deeply with the character’s experiences.

What is the significance of personalized descriptions in showcasing a character’s anxiety?

Personalized descriptions add depth to the character’s anxiety, making it uniquely theirs. By exploring the character’s individual fears and triggers, the descriptions can lead to a more profound reader’s understanding.

How can sensory details and metaphors enhance the description of a character’s anxiety?

By showing rather than telling, authors can utilize sensory details and strategic metaphors to vividly illustrate the character’s anxiety. Such devices can help readers virtually “feel” the anxiety, leading to a more immersive reading experience.

Why is it important to contrast a character’s calm state with their anxious state?

Contrasting a calm state with an anxious one helps to underscore the intensity of the anxiety. This contrast also helps create a lasting impression on the reader about the character’s emotional journey.

DUA For Anxiety

How to Treat High Functioning Anxiety

Editor’s Note: In this interview on writing anxiety, instructor Giulietta Nardone describes what creative writing anxiety is, what causes it, and—most importantly—how to get over writing anxiety.

What is writing anxiety?

There are many people who would like to start writing, or to take a writing class, but they never get started because the critical voice that lives in their head—which we all have—tells them they’re not good enough to write, that no one wants to hear what they want to say. So they don’t bother.

People with writing anxiety might even get physical symptoms if they try to write, or to over-edit: perspiring, trembling, shortness of breath, pacing, and so on.

What is the opposite of writing anxiety?

I would say enthusiasm, excitement, exploration: knowing you want to dive in, and feeling free about that. A good feeling.

What causes writing anxiety?

I believe these things start when we’re quite young, and I would trace it to in our educational system, where things are right or wrong. I once taught a tween, and we did a creative writing exercise. After it was done, she wanted to know if she had the right answer.

That’s kind of the opposite thing from what you need to be a writer. You need to explore, and you don’t know what the right answer is when you start, because the right answer is the right answer for you .

I believe these things start when we’re quite young, and I would trace it to in our educational system, where things are right or wrong. That’s kind of the opposite from what you need to be a writer.

Creative writing is about exploring: going through the different layers of your life, of your memory, coming up with something that you want said. And if you’re suffering from perfectionism, which is very common, it can be difficult. I’ve worked with people who would never finish a project, because they had to be perfect. Most of my stories, even the ones I’ve had published, I don’t think were perfect.

I think too, people are afraid to fail, what they label as failure. There isn’t really such thing—again, it’s just about exploration. It’s getting things off your chest, learning about yourself. Sometimes people heal through writing. There are so many reasons to start writing. You’ve got to give yourself permission to start.

What experiences have you had with writing anxiety in your own writing?

For myself, an example is not writing but public speaking. When I was in college, I kept changing majors, because I was terrified to give a presentation. If I’d walk into a class and if giving a presentation was on the syllabus, I’d leave.

I knew I had to get over it by taking a speech class.

I was terrified. It took me a while to sign up for it—“I don’t want to do this.” Then I did sign up for it. The thing I feared in my life ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me. I keep saying, “What would have happened if I didn’t sign up?” Many years later, I wrote an essay about taking the class, and sold it to the college where I took the class. I got a lot of good feedback from people with similar fears.

There’s a continuum of fear when it comes to writing. Maybe you start, and then there’s a fear to finish, or a fear to send it out.

I work privately with writers, and a lot of writers are afraid to finish their stories and then send them out. There’s a continuum of fear when it comes to writing. Maybe you start, and then there’s a fear to finish, or a fear to send it out.

On that topic: my first essay in the Boston Globe was something I wanted for a long time. They accepted my essay, I went and got the Sunday paper, opened and read it, and thought, “This is horrible. No one can read this.” It was way too personal. I wanted to drive around and grab every Globe and shred it. Then one of my friends caught me and said, “I saw your essay. It was great.” So writing anxiety happens with writers who are getting published too.

How do you recommend writers work with writing anxiety?

Write. It may sound contrarian, but you have to do the thing you’re afraid of.

Write. You have to do the thing you’re afraid of. You’ve got to start—that’s the tough part.

That’s always hard for me. I was afraid to hike into a canyon, so I went to Bryce Canyon with my husband and I took little baby steps the whole way down. I made it down and it was really beautiful, and I was glad I did it. I think I could do the Grand Canyon.

So just write. Hopefully take a class, with some guidance. You’ve got to start. The tough part is to start.

What can you tell us about your new course, Overcome Writing Anxiety: Boost Your Storytelling Confidence in Four Short Weeks! ?

This is a supportive, gentle program to get folks writing. They want to learn to trust each other, and most importantly trust themselves. We’re going to start short, with poetry, and then go a little longer with some flash fiction, and then creative nonfiction, maybe a short memoir. But we’re not going to write these long missives, so that no one gets frightened or overwhelmed.

We’ll be building up people’s courage every week. It’ll be fun and functional. I put it together influenced a little bit by a talk by Dr. Seuss. I love Dr. Seuss’s books, so I set it up with a Dr. Seuss lilt. I wanted it to be fun like Dr. Seuss. He was also very brave with his writing and his illustrations.

https://writers.com/classes/overcome-writing-anxiety-and-write-with-confidence

I see it as an inspirational program where you can build up your writing courage, and leave with some stories you may want to share with your family and friends. People will leave much more brave. And this is writing, but you can apply what you learned to other things: painting or singing or dance, whatever. I make myself do that all the time, and I’m always glad I do: I’ve done some great things just jumping right in.

I would like people who are feeling reluctant about writing to take a chance and join us. In my experience, it’s the risks we don’t take that can make us feel incomplete. It’s about getting comfortable taking risks, so you can do a lot of the things in life that you want to do, but you’re kind of keeping yourself from doing.

Looking for more practical guidance on tackling writing anxiety? See instructor Dennis Foley ‘s advice on the topic .

Frederick Meyer

Writing Anxiety

What this handout is about.

This handout discusses the situational nature of writer’s block and other writing anxiety and suggests things you can try to feel more confident and optimistic about yourself as a writer.

What are writing anxiety and writer’s block?

“Writing anxiety” and “writer’s block” are informal terms for a wide variety of apprehensive and pessimistic feelings about writing. These feelings may not be pervasive in a person’s writing life. For example, you might feel perfectly fine writing a biology lab report but apprehensive about writing a paper on a novel. You may confidently tackle a paper about the sociology of gender but delete and start over twenty times when composing an email to a cute classmate to suggest a coffee date. In other words, writing anxiety and writers’ block are situational (Hjortshoj 7). These terms do NOT describe psychological attributes. People aren’t born anxious writers; rather, they become anxious or blocked through negative or difficult experiences with writing.

When do these negative feelings arise?

Although there is a great deal of variation among individuals, there are also some common experiences that writers in general find stressful.

For example, you may struggle when you are:

adjusting to a new form of writing—for example, first year college writing, papers in a new field of study, or longer forms than you are used to (a long research paper, a senior thesis, a master’s thesis, a dissertation) (Hjortshoj 56-76).
writing for a reader or readers who have been overly critical or demanding in the past.
remembering negative criticism received in the past—even if the reader who criticized your work won’t be reading your writing this time.
working with limited time or with a lot of unstructured time.
responding to an assignment that seems unrelated to academic or life goals.
dealing with troubling events outside of school.

What are some strategies for handling these feelings?

Get support.

Choose a writing buddy, someone you trust to encourage you in your writing life. Your writing buddy might be a friend or family member, a classmate, a teacher, a colleague, or a Writing Center tutor. Talk to your writing buddy about your ideas, your writing process, your worries, and your successes. Share pieces of your writing. Make checking in with your writing buddy a regular part of your schedule. When you share pieces of writing with your buddy, use our handout on asking for feedback .

In his book Understanding Writing Blocks, Keith Hjortshoj describes how isolation can harm writers, particularly students who are working on long projects not connected with coursework (134-135). He suggests that in addition to connecting with supportive individuals, such students can benefit from forming or joining a writing group, which functions in much the same way as a writing buddy. A group can provide readers, deadlines, support, praise, and constructive criticism. For help starting one, see our handout about writing groups .

Identify your strengths

Often, writers who are experiencing block or anxiety have a worse opinion of their own writing than anyone else! Make a list of the things you do well. You might ask a friend or colleague to help you generate such a list. Here are some possibilities to get you started:

I explain things well to people.
I get people’s interest.
I have strong opinions.
I listen well.
I am critical of what I read.
I see connections.

Choose at least one strength as your starting point. Instead of saying “I can’t write,” say “I am a writer who can …”

Recognize that writing is a complex process

Writing is an attempt to fix meaning on the page, but you know, and your readers know, that there is always more to be said on a topic. The best writers can do is to contribute what they know and feel about a topic at a particular point in time.

Writers often seek “flow,” which usually entails some sort of breakthrough followed by a beautifully coherent outpouring of knowledge. Flow is both a possibility—most people experience it at some point in their writing lives—and a myth. Inevitably, if you write over a long period of time and for many different situations, you will encounter obstacles. As Hjortshoj explains, obstacles are particularly common during times of transition—transitions to new writing roles or to new kinds of writing.

Think of yourself as an apprentice.

If block or apprehension is new for you, take time to understand the situations you are writing in. In particular, try to figure out what has changed in your writing life. Here are some possibilities:

You are writing in a new format.
You are writing longer papers than before.
You are writing for new audiences.
You are writing about new subject matter.
You are turning in writing from different stages of the writing process—for example, planning stages or early drafts.

It makes sense to have trouble when dealing with a situation for the first time. It’s also likely that when you confront these new situations, you will learn and grow. Writing in new situations can be rewarding. Not every format or audience will be right for you, but you won’t know which ones might be right until you try them. Think of new writing situations as apprenticeships. When you’re doing a new kind of writing, learn as much as you can about it, gain as many skills in that area as you can, and when you finish the apprenticeship, decide which of the skills you learned will serve you well later on. You might be surprised.

Below are some suggestions for how to learn about new kinds of writing:

Ask a lot of questions of people who are more experienced with this kind of writing. Here are some of the questions you might ask: What’s the purpose of this kind of writing? Who’s the audience? What are the most important elements to include? What’s not as important? How do you get started? How do you know when what you’ve written is good enough? How did you learn to write this way?
Ask a lot of questions of the person who assigned you a piece of writing. If you have a paper, the best place to start is with the written assignment itself. For help with this, see our handout on understanding assignments .
Look for examples of this kind of writing. (You can ask your instructor for a recommended example). Look, especially, for variation. There are often many different ways to write within a particular form. Look for ways that feel familiar to you, approaches that you like. You might want to look for published models or, if this seems too intimidating, look at your classmates’ writing. In either case, ask yourself questions about what these writers are doing, and take notes. How does the writer begin and end? In what order does the writer tell things? How and when does the writer convey their main point? How does the writer bring in other people’s ideas? What is the writer’s purpose? How is that purpose achieved?
Read our handouts about how to write in specific fields or how to handle specific writing assignments.
Listen critically to your readers. Before you dismiss or wholeheartedly accept what they say, try to understand them. If a reader has given you written comments, ask yourself questions to figure out the reader’s experience of your paper: What is this reader looking for? What am I doing that satisfies this reader? In what ways is this reader still unsatisfied? If you can’t answer these questions from the reader’s comments, then talk to the reader, or ask someone else to help you interpret the comments.
Most importantly, don’t try to do everything at once. Start with reasonable expectations. You can’t write like an expert your first time out. Nobody does! Use the criticism you get.

Once you understand what readers want, you are in a better position to decide what to do with their criticisms. There are two extreme possibilities—dismissing the criticisms and accepting them all—but there is also a lot of middle ground. Figure out which criticisms are consistent with your own purposes, and do the hard work of engaging with them. Again, don’t expect an overnight turn-around; recognize that changing writing habits is a process and that papers are steps in the process.

Chances are that at some point in your writing life you will encounter readers who seem to dislike, disagree with, or miss the point of your work. Figuring out what to do with criticism from such readers is an important part of a writer’s growth.

Try new tactics when you get stuck

Often, writing blocks occur at particular stages of the writing process. The writing process is cyclical and variable. For different writers, the process may include reading, brainstorming, drafting, getting feedback, revising, and editing. These stages do not always happen in this order, and once a writer has been through a particular stage, chances are they haven’t seen the last of that stage. For example, brainstorming may occur all along the way.

Figure out what your writing process looks like and whether there’s a particular stage where you tend to get stuck. Perhaps you love researching and taking notes on what you read, and you have a hard time moving from that work to getting started on your own first draft. Or once you have a draft, it seems set in stone and even though readers are asking you questions and making suggestions, you don’t know how to go back in and change it. Or just the opposite may be true; you revise and revise and don’t want to let the paper go.

Wherever you have trouble, take a longer look at what you do and what you might try. Sometimes what you do is working for you; it’s just a slow and difficult process. Other times, what you do may not be working; these are the times when you can look around for other approaches to try:

Talk to your writing buddy and to other colleagues about what they do at the particular stage that gets you stuck.
Read about possible new approaches in our handouts on brainstorming and revising .
Try thinking of yourself as an apprentice to a stage of the writing process and give different strategies a shot.
Cut your paper into pieces and tape them to the wall, use eight different colors of highlighters, draw a picture of your paper, read your paper out loud in the voice of your favorite movie star….

Okay, we’re kind of kidding with some of those last few suggestions, but there is no limit to what you can try (for some fun writing strategies, check out our online animated demos ). When it comes to conquering a block, give yourself permission to fall flat on your face. Trying and failing will you help you arrive at the thing that works for you.

Celebrate your successes

Start storing up positive experiences with writing. Whatever obstacles you’ve faced, celebrate the occasions when you overcome them. This could be something as simple as getting started, sharing your work with someone besides a teacher, revising a paper for the first time, trying out a new brainstorming strategy, or turning in a paper that has been particularly challenging for you. You define what a success is for you. Keep a log or journal of your writing successes and breakthroughs, how you did it, how you felt. This log can serve as a boost later in your writing life when you face new challenges.

Wait a minute, didn’t we already say that? Yes. It’s worth repeating. Most people find relief for various kinds of anxieties by getting support from others. Sometimes the best person to help you through a spell of worry is someone who’s done that for you before—a family member, a friend, a mentor. Maybe you don’t even need to talk with this person about writing; maybe you just need to be reminded to believe in yourself, that you can do it.

If you don’t know anyone on campus yet whom you have this kind of relationship with, reach out to someone who seems like they could be a good listener and supportive. There are a number of professional resources for you on campus, people you can talk through your ideas or your worries with. A great place to start is the UNC Writing Center. If you know you have a problem with writing anxiety, make an appointment well before the paper is due. You can come to the Writing Center with a draft or even before you’ve started writing. You can also approach your instructor with questions about your writing assignment. If you’re an undergraduate, your academic advisor and your residence hall advisor are other possible resources. Counselors at Counseling and Wellness Services are also available to talk with you about anxieties and concerns that extend beyond writing.

Apprehension about writing is a common condition on college campuses. Because writing is the most common means of sharing our knowledge, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we write. This handout has given some suggestions for how to relieve that pressure. Talk with others; realize we’re all learning; take an occasional risk; turn to the people who believe in you. Counter negative experiences by actively creating positive ones.

Even after you have tried all of these strategies and read every Writing Center handout, invariably you will still have negative experiences in your writing life. When you get a paper back with a bad grade on it or when you get a rejection letter from a journal, fend off the negative aspects of that experience. Try not to let them sink in; try not to let your disappointment fester. Instead, jump right back in to some area of the writing process: choose one suggestion the evaluator has made and work on it, or read and discuss the paper with a friend or colleague, or do some writing or revising—on this or any paper—as quickly as possible.

Failures of various kinds are an inevitable part of the writing process. Without them, it would be difficult if not impossible to grow as a writer. Learning often occurs in the wake of a startling event, something that stirs you up, something that makes you wonder. Use your failures to keep moving.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Hjortshoj, Keith. 2001. Understanding Writing Blocks . New York: Oxford University Press.

This is a particularly excellent resource for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Hjortshoj writes about his experiences working with university students experiencing block. He explains the transitional nature of most writing blocks and the importance of finding support from others when working on long projects.

Rose, Mike. 1985. When a Writer Can’t Write: Studies in Writer’s Block and Other Composing-Process Problems . New York: Guilford.

This collection of empirical studies is written primarily for writing teachers, researchers, and tutors. Studies focus on writers of various ages, including young children, high school students, and college students.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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Master List of Ways to Describe Fear

People have been asking me for this list for such a long time! If you write horror, suspense, mystery, or any kind of fiction with a scary scenes, you need to know how to describe fear.

This list can get you started. It’s a lot of phrases describing fear, including physical reactions, physical sensations, facial expressions, and other words you can use in your novel or in other creative writing.

I’ve included some that can work for uneasiness or anxiety, but most of these are for real terror. You can alter them to fit your sentence or your story, and they’ll likely inspire you to come up with your own descriptions.

Bookmark or pin this page for your reference—it might save you a lot of time in the future. I’ll probably add to it now and again!

Master List of Ways to Describe Fear #master lists for writers free ebook #master lists for writers free pdf #master lists for writers free kindle #describing fear in a story #description of fear #great fear #how to describe fear #words describing fear

fear paralyzed him

his terror mounted with every step

she fought a rising panic

fear tormented her

her heart was uneasy

her heart leaped into her throat

his heart hammered in his chest

his heart pounded

terror stabbed his heart

his heart jumped

her heart lurched

a fear that almost unmanned him

his body shook with fear

she trembled inside

he suppressed a shiver

panic surged through him

her fear spiked

he was in a complete state of panic

she could feel nothing but blind terror

his legs were wobbly with fear

she sweated with fear

his hands were cold and clammy

she was weighed down by dread

dread twisted in her gut

his stomach clenched

fear fluttered in her stomach

her belly cramped

he felt like he might throw up

she was sick with fear

she was frightened down to the soles of her shoes

he was icy with panic

her body went cold with dread

raw panic was in her voice

her voice was thick with fear

his voice was edged with fear

terror thundered down on him

fear caught her in its jaws

fear clawed up her throat

terror sealed her throat

fear gripped her throat

his throat tightened

then she knew real terror was

he was frantic with fear

she was half mad with terror

the color drained from her face

his face was ashen

she blanched

dread gnawed at his insides

dread had been growing in him all day

fresh terror reared up within her

fear choked him

terror stole her words

he was mute with horror

her voice was numb with shock

his voice was shrill with terror

her defiant words masked her fear

her body felt numb

his blood froze in his veins

terror coursed through her veins

fear throbbed inside her

his panic fueled him

adrenaline pumped through his body

adrenaline crashed through her

fear pulsed through him

her scalp prickled

the hairs on the back of her neck stood up

his mouth went dry

his bones turned to jelly

her bones turned to water

she froze with horror

he didn’t dare to move

terror struck her

he was too frightened to lift her head

she was too frightened to scream

his mouth was open in a silent scream

he cringed with fear

she cowered

he shrank back in fear

she flinched

a bolt of panic hit her

terror streaked through him

her terror swelled

his panic increased

anxiety eclipsed his thoughts

panic flared in her eyes

his eyes were wild with terror

her eyes darted from left to right

she feared to close her eyes

he lay awake in a haze of fear

she walked on in a fog of fear

his eyes widened with alarm

she tried to hide her fear

he struggled to conceal his shock

fear crept up her spine

fear trickled down her spine

panic seized his brain

she felt a flash of terror

fear took hold of him

fear flooded through her being

she ordered a drink to drown the panic

he arranged and re-arranged the items on his desk

a nameless dread engulfed him

Master List of Ways to Describe Fear #describing fear in a story #description of fear #great fear #how to describe fear #words describing fear

I bet you came up with other ideas as you were reading!

For more writing lists, check out my book Master Lists for Writers , if you don’t have it yet! A lot of writers use it to make writing go faster, especially when it comes to descriptions.

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How to Describe Worry in Writing

By: Author Paul Jenkins

Posted on Published: July 4, 2022 - Last updated: January 5, 2024

Categories Writing , Creativity , Filmmaking , Storytelling

It can be difficult to write about a worried character. They don’t always show their worries on the surface and may not even know what’s going on themselves. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create a believable and compelling character who worries all the time. In this post, we’ll show you the best way to create a worried character and how to make them feel real to your readers in your creative writing.

Characters Are Worried for a Reason – Give Readers a Glimpse

When writing about a character who worries, it’s important to give your readers some insight into why they worry. Otherwise, the worry may come across as unfounded or irrational.

So how do you describe worry in a way that’s both believable and understandable?

One way is to focus on the physical sensations of worry. This includes things like a racing heart, sweaty palms, or butterflies in the stomach. These physical reactions can be triggered by a variety of things, such as anticipation of a future event or memories of a past event.

By describing the physical sensations of worry, you can help your readers understand and sympathize with your character’s inner turmoil.
Another way to describe worry is to focus on the thought process itself. What goes through someone’s mind when they feel anxious or stressed? Often, worry is based on irrational thoughts or fears. This can mean thinking an upcoming event is catastrophic or thinking about a past mistake. By showing how these thoughts contribute to the feelings of worry, you can help your readers understand the person’s mental state.

Show How the Character’s Worry Impacts Their Actions

All characters face worry or stress in their lives, and these worries can greatly affect the way they think, speak, and act. As a writer, it’s important to capture this sense of worry in your writing to create fully developed and believable characters.

One way to show how worry affects a character is through their thoughts. A character who worries may be thinking about it constantly, even when she should be focusing on something else.

In their mind, thoughts circle around the worst-case scenario, or they replay past events over and over again, trying to find a clue as to what went wrong. This preoccupation with worry can lead to insomnia, anxiety, and depression.

Another way to show how worry affects a person is through their words. A worried person may speak faster than usual, or they may stumble over their words and stutter.

They may also have difficulty concentrating on a conversation and may digress and worry in the middle of a sentence.

In addition, a person who worries may blurt out things they wouldn’t normally say – they may say something that gives too much away, or they may make a raunchy joke. This kind of behavior says a lot about a character’s personality and state of mind.

Characters who worry often worry about what if.

What if I’m not good enough?
What if I’m not prepared?
What if I fail?

This way of thinking leads to a sense of fear and unease that can be conveyed by both the person’s thoughts and actions. Social anxiety can be a big part of what is going on.

For example, a person who’s worried about an upcoming exam might be pacing, biting their nails, or having difficulty concentrating. By showing how worry affects a character’s thoughts, words, and actions, you can give readers a deeper understanding of the character’s motivations and fears.

Plus, this attention to detail can help make the story more believable and realistic.

Show the Character’s Innermost Thoughts and Fears About Their Worry

When you’re writing about worry, it’s important to portray the character’s innermost thoughts and fears.

One way to do this is to use descriptive language.

For example, instead of simply saying, “ I’m worried about the upcoming exam ,” the person might say, “ I’m scared about the upcoming exam. What if I fail it? Then I’ll never graduate. ” This wording helps build a picture of the person’s emotional state and allows readers to empathize with their fears.

It’s also important to show how the person is dealing with her worries. Does she try to distract herself? Does she allow the worries to consume her? A person may deal with their worries in a variety of ways, such as excessive drinking, drug use, or long, hot showers.

By showing both the emotion itself and the character’s reaction to it, you can give readers a deeper understanding of what their worries feel like.

Body language can be a powerful way to show fear and anxiety. Shaking hands, for example, can convey a sense of fear or foreboding. Hunched shoulders, furrowed brows, pacing, and clenched fists are also signs of worry. A clenched jaw and teeth grinding are also signs of stress.

Inner monologs can reveal a person’s deepest fears and worries. Finally, thoughts about the future can show how a person’s worries affect their decisions.

One way to show a character’s innermost thoughts and fears is to have them keep a diary, as was done brilliantly in Bridget Jones’s Diary , for example.

Worry in the Eyes

When you’re writing about characters who’re worried, it can be helpful to describe their eyes. This is because the eyes are often a telltale sign of worry, stress, or anxiety.

For example, someone who’s worried may look around the room with wide eyes, trying to see all possible dangers.

Or the pupils may be dilated, making the eyes appear larger than usual.

Also, the person may blink more often than usual to prevent their eyes from drying out from stress.

Eyebrows may be drawn together and the skin between them may be wrinkled.

Another way to show worry is squinted eyes. This can convey suspicion or alertness as if the person is trying to assess a situation or a person.

With anxiety symptoms like this, you can help readers understand how the person is feeling and why they’re behaving in certain ways.

Worry in the Voice

One way to show that a character is worried is through their dialog. Concerned characters often speak quickly, use filler words, or stumble over their words as a vocal mirror of their negative thoughts.

You can also have them stumble over their words or hesitate in the middle of a sentence. Another way to show worry in the voice is to have the character’s pitch rise, either because they’re panicking or because they’re trying to sound more convincing.

Finally, you can make the character’s voice tremble or quiver as an anxious thought crosses their mind, which expresses both fear and uncertainty.

You Need the Backstory

It’s important that you know the backstory well in your writing process. This is because worry usually arises from some kind of conflict or problem.

To portray worry convincingly in your writing, you need to be able to show how the conflict or problem has affected your character.

What’s at stake?
What’s your character’s goal?
And what’s she afraid of losing?

Here are some things to keep in mind as you flesh out the backstory of a character who’s worried:

How did the conflict or problem arise?
What’s the cause of the character’s stress?
What’re the consequences of failure?
What’s your character’s greatest fear?

Answering these questions will help you create a well-rounded and believable character who’s real concerns. If you know the backstory well, you can write about worry in a way that’s relatable and compelling.

What Worry Feels Like Inside

Here’s how someone might describe being worried:

Some days it’s hard to focus on anything but worry. It’s like a storm cloud hovering over your head, casting a shadow over everything else in your life.

When you worry, it feels like your mind is stuck in a loop of anxious thoughts. You feel tense and nervous, or you feel like you can’t focus on anything else. Your heart might be racing and you might start to sweat. You might even feel like you’re going to throw up or have a panic attack.

All of these physical symptoms can make it hard for you to think clearly or calm down. Worry can also affect your sleep, so you end up feeling not only anxious but exhausted.

Worry is all-consuming and can’t be shaken off. Your stomach is in knots and you can barely catch your breath.

Every little sound feels like it’s multiplying tenfold, and you can’t sit still. You pace back and forth, rock back and forth, or wrap your hair around your finger obsessively.

You might even start picking at your skin or biting your nails.

All you can think about is what could go wrong and how disastrous the consequences could be.

It can feel like your thoughts are spinning out of control. You may feel like you can’t turn your brain off.

It’s a stressful way to live, but it’s hard to see a way out when worry has such a tight grip on you.

Mastering Emotional Description Through Personal Insight

A crucial element in expressing emotions effectively in writing, such as conveying worry, lies in tapping into your emotional experiences. The best way to capture the essence of an emotion authentically is by understanding it intimately; one of the most effective methods to achieve this is through journaling. Regularly analyzing and articulating your feelings in a journal, you develop a deeper understanding and a more nuanced vocabulary for expressing emotions.

To assist you in this reflective practice, we recommend exploring “ Deep Journal Prompts ” from Brilliantio. These prompts are designed to guide you into a profound exploration of your emotional landscape, helping you articulate and understand complex feelings like worry, joy, frustration, and more. This deep self-exploration can significantly enhance your ability to describe these emotions in your writing.

Alternatively, for those looking to make journaling a consistent daily practice, “ 365 Journal Prompts ” offers a prompt for each day of the year, covering a wide range of emotions and scenarios. This can be an excellent way to ensure a varied and comprehensive exploration of your emotional experiences over time.

Incorporating these journaling practices into your routine not only aids in personal growth but also equips you with the tools to describe emotions more vividly and authentically in your writing.

How to Describe Fear in Writing (21 Best Tips + Examples)

The ability to evoke fear can heighten the tension in your narratives, making your characters more relatable and your stories more gripping.

But how do you do it?

Here’s how to describe fear in writing:

Describe fear in writing by understanding the type of fear, its intensity, and expressing it through body language, speech patterns, thoughts, feelings, setting, pace, and sensory description. Use metaphors, symbols, contrast, relatable fears, and personal experiences for a vivid portrayal.

In this guide, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how to describe fear in writing.

21 Elements to Describe Fear in Writing

Cartoon image of two scared women - How to Describe Fear in Writing

Table of Contents

When writing about fear in stories or screenplays, there are 21 elements you need to consider.

Here is a list of those crucial elements of fear:

Type of Fear
Body Language
Speech Patterns
Use of Metaphors and Similes
Sensory Description
Relatability
Anticipation
The Unknown
Personal Experiences
Internal and External Conflict
Character Development
Word Choices
Repercussions

Next, we’ll dive deeper into each element so that you fully understand what it is and how to apply it to your story.

Tip 1: Get to Know the Type of Fear

Understanding the type of fear your character is experiencing can make a huge difference in your writing.

Fear comes in various forms such as phobias, existential fear, traumatic fear, or even something as simple as a sudden surprise.

Knowing the difference will help you convey the emotion accurately and realistically.

Example: Fear of heights (acrophobia) would involve dizziness, a feeling of being unbalanced, and terror of looking down. On the other hand, existential fear, like the dread of death, would lead to more internal thoughts, panic, and a profound sense of despair.

Tip 2: Depict the Intensity

The intensity of fear varies from person to person and situation to situation.

Your character could be slightly uncomfortable, petrified, or somewhere in between.

Describing the intensity of the fear helps set the tone and mood for your scene.

Example: A mild unease could be something like, “There was a nagging sensation in the pit of her stomach.” As for absolute terror, try something like, “His heart pounded like a wild drum, every cell in his body screaming in terror.”

Tip 3: Use Body Language

Actions often tell more than words do.

Displaying your character’s fear through their body language can help your reader visualize the situation and empathize with the character’s feelings.

Example: A scared character might tremble, perspire excessively, or even exhibit signs of hyperventilation. “She stood frozen, her whole body shaking like a leaf in the wind, her breath coming out in short, ragged gasps.”

Tip 4: Alter Speech Patterns

Fear can greatly influence a person’s speech.

A scared character might stutter, ramble, or even lose the ability to speak entirely.

This can be an effective way to demonstrate their fear without explicitly stating it.

Example: “I-I don’t know w-what y-you’re talking about,” he stuttered, his voice barely above a whisper.”

Tip 5: Dive into Thoughts

A character’s thoughts provide insight into their mental state.

This can be a great tool for conveying fear, as it allows you to delve into their deepest insecurities and worries.

Example: “What if the car breaks down in the middle of nowhere? What if nobody finds me? What if this is the end?” His mind was a whirlwind of terrifying possibilities.

Tip 6: Express Feelings

Directly stating a character’s feelings can make the narrative more immediate and intense.

However, avoid overusing this method as it can become monotonous and lose impact.

Example: “A wave of fear washed over him, a fear so raw and powerful that it threatened to consume him whole.”

Tip 7: Use Metaphors and Similes

Metaphors and similes are useful tools to intensify your narrative and paint a vivid picture of fear in your reader’s mind.

Just be sure not to overuse them.

Instead, apply them strategically throughout your story when they can make the biggest impact.

Example: “His fear was a wild beast, unchecked and unfettered, tearing through the barriers of his mind.”

Tip 8: Control the Pace

When a character experiences fear, their perception of time can change.

Use pacing to mirror this altered perception.

Quick, short sentences can reflect a fast-paced scene of intense fear, while long, drawn-out sentences can portray a slow, creeping dread.

Example: “His heart raced. Sweat trickled down his brow. His hands shook. He was out of time.” Versus, “A dread, slow and cruel, crept up her spine, making every second feel like an eternity.”

Tip 9: Sensory Description

Involve the reader’s senses.

Make them hear the character’s thumping heart, feel their cold sweat, see their trembling hands.

The more sensory detail, the more immersive the experience.

Example: “The air turned frigid around him, his heart pounded in his ears, the acrid smell of fear filled his nostrils.”

Tip 10: Symbolism

Symbols can add depth to your story.

A symbol associated with fear can subconsciously create unease in your reader.

The smell of damp earth, the taste of fear-induced bile, or the touch of a cold wind can heighten your depiction of fear.

Example: A character may associate a certain perfume smell with a traumatic event, stirring fear every time they smell it.

Tip 11: Contrast

Adding a contrast between what a character expects and what actually happens can surprise both your character and reader, creating fear.

Additionally, such a contrast can throw a character off balance, making them more vulnerable.

This vulnerability can, in tandem, intensify the fear.

Example: A character walking into their home expecting a warm welcome, only to find a burglar instead.

Tip 12: Setting

A well-described setting can set the mood and increase the fear factor.

A dark alley, an abandoned house, or even a graveyard can make a scene scarier.

Consider, for instance, the prickling sensation of fear that crawls up your reader’s spine as your character walks down a gloomy, deserted alleyway.

Example: “The hallway was dimly lit, the floorboards creaked underfoot, and an eerie silence hung in the air.”

Tip 13: Timing

Timing is everything.

A sudden fright or a fear that gradually builds over time can significantly impact the level of fear.

Unexpected scares can send a jolt of fear, while prolonged dread can create a suspenseful horror.

Example: “As she turned the corner, a figure lunged at her” versus “She had the unsettling feeling of being watched for the past week.”

Tip 14: Relatability

Fear becomes more intense when it’s something your reader can relate to.

A fear of failure, of losing loved ones, or of public speaking can be quite effective.

Common fears such as public speaking, rejection, or loss can elicit a stronger emotional response.

Example: “The prospect of speaking in front of the crowd filled him with a fear so intense, it felt as though he was drowning.”

Tip 15: Anticipation

The fear of the unknown or the anticipation of something bad happening can be more terrifying than the event itself.

Plus, it creates suspense and holds the reader’s attention as they await the inevitable.

Example: “She waited for the results, her heart pounding in her chest. The fear of bad news was almost too much to bear.”

Tip 16: The Unknown

Fear of the unknown is a fundamental aspect of human nature.

Utilize this by keeping the source of fear hidden or unclear. In addition, this uncertainty can mirror the character’s feelings, drawing readers into their experience.

Example: “There was something in the room with him. He could hear it moving, but he couldn’t see it.”

Tip 17: Personal Experiences

Incorporating personal experiences into your narrative can make the fear feel more authentic.

It can also make writing the scene easier for you.

In fact, a scene drawn from your own fears can imbue your writing with raw, genuine emotion.

Example: “Just like when I was a child, the sight of the towering wave sent a ripple of terror through me.”

Tip 18: Internal and External Conflict

Fear can be used to create both internal (fear of failure, rejection) and external conflict (fear of a villain or natural disaster).

Importantly, fear can create a dilemma for your character, adding depth to their personality and complexity to your story.

“ Example: “His fear of disappointing his parents clashed with his fear of failing in his own ambitions.”

Tip 19: Character Development

Fear is a powerful motivator and can be a significant factor in character development.

It can cause a character to grow, reveal their true self, or even hold them back.

Moreover, how a character responds to fear can reveal their true nature or trigger growth, making them more nuanced and relatable.

Example: “Faced with his worst fear, he had two choices — to run and hide, or to fight. It was this moment that shaped him into the brave leader he would become.”

Tip 20: Word Choices

Choosing the right words can drastically alter the atmosphere of a scene.

Descriptive and emotive words can create a more palpable sense of fear. Descriptive and emotive words can help create a vivid, terrifying scene that lingers in your reader’s mind.

Example: “The eerie silence was shattered by a gut-wrenching scream.”

Tip 21: Repercussions

Fear often leads to consequences.

Showing the aftermath of fear — a character’s regret, relief, or trauma — can deepen your story’s impact.

Also, it allows for an exploration of the character’s coping mechanisms and resilience, adding another layer to their personality.

Example: “After the incident, every shadow made her jump, every noise made her heart race. Fear had left a lasting mark on her.”

Here is a video on how to describe fear in writing:

30 Words to Describe Fear

If you want to know how to describe fear in writing, you’ll need the right words:

Here is a list of good words to write about fear:

Apprehensive
Intimidated
Creeped-out
Trepidatious

30 Phrases to Describe Fear

Here are phrases to help you describe, fear, terror, and more in your writing:

Paralyzed with fear
Fear gripped her
Heart pounding in terror
Overcome with fright
Sweating bullets
Shaking like a leaf
Frozen in fear
Sick with dread
A sinking feeling of fear
Stomach tied in knots
Hands trembling with fear
Fear crawled up her spine
Fear etched in his eyes
Terror washed over her
A cold sweat broke out
Goosebumps of fear
Fear stole his breath away
Chilled to the bone
The shadow of fear
Consumed by fear
Fear clenched at her heart
Felt a wave of panic
Heart raced with anxiety
Fear prickled at the back of her neck
Jumping at shadows
Staring fear in the face
Scream stuck in her throat
Cornered by fear
Sweat of fear
A gust of terror

3 Full Fear Examples (3 Paragraphs)

Now, let’s look at three full examples of describing fear.

In the pit of her stomach, a sinking feeling of dread formed, icy tendrils of fear slithering into her veins.

Her heart pounded against her ribcage like a desperate prisoner, her breath hitched in her throat.

The alley was darker than she remembered, every shadow a potential threat.

The deafening silence, broken only by the distant hoot of an owl and her own shaky breaths, seemed to press against her eardrums. She was consumed by fear, every instinct screaming at her to run.

He stood petrified at the edge of the forest, the ominous blackness seeming to swallow up the faint moonlight.

Fear gripped him, a visceral entity that stole his breath and froze his blood.

The whispering wind through the trees sounded like ghostly warnings, making his skin prickle. He was acutely aware of his thundering heartbeat, the shaky dampness of his palms, the dryness in his mouth.

An unsettling shiver ran down his spine, and he knew without a shadow of doubt that stepping into the forest meant facing his worst nightmares.

Her hands shook as she held the envelope, her name written in a familiar scrawl.

An overwhelming sense of dread filled her as she slowly slid her finger under the seal, breaking it open.

The silence in the room was oppressive, the ticking of the clock deafening in its persistence.

She unfolded the letter, her eyes scanning the words written in haste. As she read, her fear gave way to a cold realization. Fear had been replaced by an emotion even worse – utter despair.

Final Thoughts: How to Describe Fear in Writing

Fear looks very different on different characters and in different stories.

The more specifically you create fear in your stories, often the better.

When you need to describe other things in your writing – from love to mountains and more – check out our other writing guides on this site.

How to Describe Love in Writing (21 Best Tips + Examples)
How to Describe a Face in Writing (21 Best Tips + Examples)
How To Describe a Panic Attack in Writing (Ultimate Guide)
How to Describe Mountains in Writing (21 Tips & Examples)

The Biology of Fear (NIH)

For the love of Literature

writing a realistic panic attack-with written examples

How To Write A Realistic Panic Attack: 22 Tips With Written Examples.

For many writers, describing a situation or writing a scene they have no experience over is really hard. Many of them get the symptoms wrong, some get the details wrong and some have no idea what their character should be feeling. So, I devised a list to help anyone who is looking to write a realistic panic attack and has no idea how to describe it in your writings.

Panic attacks are involuntary reactions of your body to intense fear and distress. Its symptoms vary from person to person and there are no exact symptoms that are felt by everyone, however some common examples are nausea, dizziness, trouble breathing etc. Similarly, its triggers are also specific to the person having it and are diverse.

How to describe the triggers of a panic attack:

In order to describe a panic attack, you need to be aware of what can trigger a panic attack. Some of the common triggers you can use to write a realistic panic attack are:

Death of a loved one
Loss of a job
Loss of a friend
Stress from the parents
Public humiliation
Life-threatening situations
Going on stage or in speaking in front of a crowd

These are the most common and intense example of what situations can cause a panic attack. However, more sensitive people can panic as a result of anything as small as an argument with their friends or not getting the top position in the class.

While writing your character, be sure how sensitive your character is before creating a trigger situation for him/her to panic.

How to write realistic symptoms of a panic attack:

Now we move on the task of describing a situation while our character is having a panic attack. Before writing the symptoms your character is feeling, remember that panic attacks occur suddenly.

If your character gets a panic attack for the first time, he/she can easily confuse it with a heart attack and panic even more.

Writing example:

Marjorie felt like she was having a heart attack . Her breathing was labored and her palms felt sweating. She felt it would burst, her heart. She couldn’t think anything, only that her chest might get crushed any minute and her heart might burst open. “Oh lord”, she prayed, “just save me this once.”

Panic attacks can cause un-triggered crying and hysterics.
Some people shake uncontrollably while having a panic attack.

She wanted to text her mother back but she couldn’t. The news had made her sweaty. She was feeling like her life was running out of her. Her body felt so weak. Her fingers! She looked at them. They were shaking uncontrollably. Trying to catch her breath, she tried to type but to no avail. Her hands weren’t following her brain.

Some people have cold sweats while panicking.
Dry mouth or dry throat is also a sign that you are having a panic attack.
Some people feel like their windpipe is clogged up while panicking.

She was trying to breathe but she couldn’t. Someone was clutching her throat, stopping her from taking full breaths. But there was no one, she was alone. Tears started trickling down her eyes as she realized this might be the end for her.

Nausea and dizziness are often experienced during a panic attack.
Heart rate picks up while someone is panicking.

She felt her heart beating seventy miles an hour, faster than that maybe. “Oh lord”, she thought to herself, “my heart is beating faster than a running cheetah.” She tried to think herself into humor but there was nothing humorous about the situation. What if her heart broke her ribcage?!

Since the symptoms are diverse, I have tried to mention the most common ones which are associated with a panic attack and will help the readers to grasp quickly what your character is going through.

How to describe a situation where someone is dealing with a person having a panic attack:

Dealing with people who are experiencing a panic attack is not easy, especially if you have had no history or previous knowledge about them. Your one small mistake might just infuriate the panicking person even more and increase the intensity of the attack. In order to write this situation correctly, you need to know the following things:

Telling someone to calm down doesn’t help in panic attacks. It’s better to ask the person what they want you to do exactly to help them ease out.

So while describing the panic attack in your writing you can go something like:

Ava cared about her friend Marjorie. And Ava had seen many panic attacks of her own over the years. She knew she had to be calm for her friend. So she asked Marjorie whose eyes were bloodshot now, calmly, “What would you like me to do for you?”

Diverting the attention to something else can help the person calm down. You can either talk about stuff they like or ask them questions to keep them engaged. They may have a hard time answer but eventually, their brain will start focusing on answering the question and they will calm down.
Make the person having a panic attack breathe in their fists.

“Good, now make a fist”, she told Marjorie. She saw her do as told, though shakily. Good, her friend was listening at least. “Now breathe in”, she performed an inward motion with her hands. “And out,” she breathed out with Marjorie.

Counting backwards can engage your brain and stop the panic attack very soon so whichever character is dealing with the panic attack can make your character count backwards with him/her.

Some other facts about panic attacks you can use:

These are a few other facts that can be used while describing a panic attack. They can be used to create well-crafted scenes of panic attacks that readers who get them can actually relate to.

People who get panic attacks run from public gatherings if they feel like getting them. It’s a shame for them to get it in front of their friends and family mostly.

Marjorie felt like she would panic. She didn’t want to do it in public, especially not in front of her new friends. They would never understand. She knew she had to get out of there fast. Or everyone will just make fun of her.

Panic attacks can’t be controlled.

Angela asked her to control it. “Marjorie”, she said, “this is a big moment. You can’t ruin it by panicking right now. Think of me, okay. Please. Do it for me.”

Marjorie wanted to. Angela didn’t know how much she wanted to. But of course, she couldn’t. She had no control over it whatsoever.

So this is it! Now go on and write that scene of yours. It’s time to impress your readers.

If you like to add in anything that will help the readers describe a panic attack realistically, just comment below and I’ll see whether it needs to be added.

You may also like How to Overcome Writer’s Block by just reading if you are having trouble writing.

2 thoughts on “ How To Write A Realistic Panic Attack: 22 Tips With Written Examples. ”

This was so helpful, Thank you!!!!

I was looking for how to show anxiety (besides the thoughts going around in circles) this is insanely good, thank you! You know, that must have been a panic attack those years ago I was over stressed and this crushing pain in my chest on the left side that went in my shoulder, and it hurt so much I started to shake. You really do think you’re having a heart attack!

Fearful Whispers: Crafting Descriptions of Fear in Creative Writing

My name is Debbie, and I am passionate about developing a love for the written word and planting a seed that will grow into a powerful voice that can inspire many.

Fearful Whispers: Crafting Descriptions of Fear in Creative Writing

Have you ever found yourself so immersed in a chilling novel that you couldn’t help but feel a shiver crawl up your spine? Or stumbled upon a short story that left you with a lingering sense of unease long after you closed its pages? It’s the power of fear, intricately woven within the tapestry of the written word, that has the ability to captivate readers and keep them yearning for more. Crafting descriptions of fear is an art that takes both finesse and creativity, allowing writers to summon emotions that stimulate the senses and send our imaginations into overdrive. In this article, we’ll explore the intricacies of fear-inspired writing, diving deep into the realm of fearful whispers, and uncovering the secrets to crafting spine-chilling descriptions that will haunt your readers long after they’ve put down your work. So, grab your pens and prepare to delve into the chilling labyrinth of fear that lies within creative writing.

– Understanding the Power of Fear in Creative Writing

Understanding the power of fear in creative writing, physical sensations:, – crafting vivid imagery: describing fearful environments and atmospheres, – tapping into the senses: painting fear through descriptive language, – portraying fear through characters: facial expressions, body language, and dialogue, – utilizing narrative techniques: building suspense and tension in fearful moments, utilizing narrative techniques: building suspense and tension in fearful moments, – transforming fear into art: balancing descriptions and reader imagination, – mastering the art of fear: tips and tricks for conveying authentic emotions, mastering the art of fear: tips and tricks for conveying authentic emotions, frequently asked questions, insights and conclusions.

When it comes to creative writing, fear is a force that holds incredible power. It has the ability to captivate readers, ignite their imaginations, and keep them on the edge of their seats. Fear is a powerful emotion that can be harnessed to create intense and memorable stories. Here’s a closer look at why fear is such a potent tool in the world of creative writing:

Evoking empathy: Fear has a unique way of tapping into our deepest emotions and vulnerabilities. By incorporating elements of fear into our writing, we can make readers feel a profound and genuine connection to the characters and situations they encounter. Whether it’s a gripping horror story or a thrilling suspense novel, fear sows the seeds of empathy, allowing readers to experience the narrative on a visceral level.
Building suspense: Suspense is a crucial ingredient in any compelling story. Fear creates tension, and tension keeps readers hooked. From building anticipation with eerie descriptions to gradually revealing the unknown, fear drives the pace and rhythm of a story, leaving readers eager to uncover what lies ahead. By skillfully weaving fear into our writing, we can create a rollercoaster of emotions that keeps readers eagerly turning pages .
Exploring the human condition: Fear is a fundamental part of the human experience. By delving into its depths within our writing, we can tackle universal themes such as mortality, vulnerability, and the pursuit of survival. Fear allows us to explore the complexities of human nature and confront the dark aspects of ourselves and society. Through this exploration, we provide readers with a mirror to reflect upon their own fears and, ultimately, find solace or inspiration within the narrative.

Fear is a powerful tool that should not be underestimated in the realm of creative writing. By understanding its allure and impact, we can effectively harness its power to create unforgettable stories that resonate with readers long after they’ve turned the final page.

– Exploring the Anatomy of Fear: Emotions, Physical Sensations, and Actions

Fear, an intrinsic part of the human experience, manifests itself in a myriad of ways. Understanding the anatomy of fear involves delving into the complex interplay between our emotions, physical sensations, and subsequent actions. Let’s explore this intriguing phenomenon further:

Paranoia: Fear can often induce an overwhelming sense of paranoia, causing individuals to perceive potential threats where none exist.
Anxiety: One of the most common emotions associated with fear, anxiety can lead to restlessness, unease, and an intense apprehension regarding future events.
Terror: At the extreme end of the spectrum, terror overwhelms our senses, paralyzing us with an acute and visceral fear that can be debilitating.
Racing Heart: When fear takes hold, our heart rate tends to spike, flooding our body with adrenaline and preparing us for a “fight or flight” response.
Sweat-soaked Skin: Fear stimulates our sweat glands, leaving us with clammy skin as our body tries to regulate temperature amid heightened anxiety.
Dilated Pupils: Our eyes become windows to our fear, dilating to allow more light in, sharpening our vision but making us hyperaware of our surroundings.

The actions we take while experiencing fear are as diverse as the individuals themselves:

Avoidance: Fear frequently triggers a deep-seated instinct to avoid the source of our fear, be it a situation, place, or person.
Fight: Some individuals may choose to confront their fears head-on, summoning the courage to face the threat and combat it with determination.
Freezing: Fear can immobilize us, leaving us frozen in our tracks, momentarily unable to make any decisions or take action.

- Crafting Vivid Imagery: Describing Fearful Environments and Atmospheres

Crafting vivid imagery is a powerful tool for evoking fear in readers and creating an atmosphere of tension and unease. To describe a fearful environment, it’s important to engage the senses and paint a detailed picture that allows readers to immerse themselves in the scene. Use the following techniques to masterfully describe fearful environments and atmospheres:

Choose descriptive and evocative words: Opt for words that convey darkness, foreboding, and danger. Words like “ominous,” “chilling,” and “sinister” can set the tone for a fearful environment.
Engage the senses: Describe the sights, sounds, smells, and even tastes that amplify the feeling of fear. Depict the flickering shadows, the echoing footsteps, the acrid scent of decay, or the metallic tang of blood in the air.
Create contrast: Contrast can heighten the sense of fear. Describe how a sliver of moonlight barely illuminates the sinister silhouette of a gnarled tree or how the silence is shattered by a sudden, bone-chilling scream.
Utilize figurative language: Metaphors, similes, and other forms of figurative language can evoke fear by creating powerful associations and comparisons. For example, you can liken the relentless footsteps to the beating heart of a predator, or describe the dark woods as a labyrinth of nightmares.

By employing these techniques, you can skillfully describe fearful environments and atmospheres, transporting readers to the heart of terror and immersing them in a world filled with apprehension and suspense.

- Tapping into the Senses: Painting Fear through Descriptive Language

Fear, a powerful emotion that can consume us, has the ability to transport us into worlds of frightening uncertainty. And what better way to harness this power than through the art of descriptive language? By skillfully employing vivid and evocative words, an author can tap into our senses, painting fear onto the canvas of our imagination.

One of the most effective ways to evoke fear is through tactile imagery. Describing the sensation of cold sweat trickling down one’s spine or the clammy touch of fear on the skin, these physical sensations make the reader empathize with the characters, experiencing their fear firsthand. Furthermore, expertly incorporating visual imagery allows readers to visualize eerie scenes. For example, the moon casting long, haunting shadows on an abandoned street or the flickering candlelight revealing only glimpses of a mysterious figure lurking in the darkness.

Tactile Imagery: Describing the sensations of fear through touch, such as cold sweat or trembling hands.
Visual Imagery: Painting fear by creating vivid and eerie visual scenes, like sinister shadows or dimly lit environments.
Sound Imagery: Utilizing sounds such as creaking floorboards or distant whispers to heighten the atmosphere of fear.
Olfactory Imagery: Appealing to the sense of smell by describing the acrid stench of fear or the musty odors of decrepit settings.

- Portraying Fear through Characters: Facial Expressions, Body Language, and Dialogue

Fear is a powerful emotion that often drives the actions of characters in a story. When it comes to portraying fear convincingly, various elements such as facial expressions, body language, and dialogue play crucial roles in creating a gripping narrative.

Facial expressions can effectively convey fear to the audience. A character’s widened eyes, furrowed brows, or trembling lips can instantly communicate their sense of terror. By emphasizing these facial cues through vivid descriptions or illustrations, writers and artists can immerse readers or viewers deeper into the character’s state of fear.

Body language is another vital aspect in portraying fear. When a character is scared, their body tends to react instinctively to the stimulus. Trembling hands, a clenched jaw, or a hunched posture can demonstrate their vulnerability and heightened state of anxiety. By incorporating these subtle physical cues into a character’s description or illustration, storytellers can add depth to their portrayal of fear.

Dialogue can also contribute significantly to the portrayal of fear. Through their words, characters can reveal their inner worries and express their apprehensions. Stuttering, rapid speech, or shaky voices can accentuate their fear and help the audience connect with their emotional turmoil. By using descriptive language and emphasizing tone, writers can effectively convey the intense emotions that accompany fear in a way that resonates with readers or viewers.

Mastering the art of portraying fear through characters requires a combination of nuanced facial expressions, body language, and well-crafted dialogue. By artfully utilizing these elements, storytellers have the power to evoke a sense of fear that lingers with the audience long after the story is told.

When it comes to creating engaging and thrilling stories, mastering the art of building suspense and tension in fearful moments is essential. By utilizing narrative techniques, writers can effectively captivate their audience and keep them on the edge of their seats. Here are a few techniques that can heighten the suspense and tension in your storytelling:

Effective pacing: Alter the pace of your narrative to control the emotional intensity of the scene. Slow down the tempo during crucial moments, offering detailed descriptions and diving into the character’s thoughts and emotions. Conversely, quicken the pace during action-packed sequences to generate a sense of urgency and unease.
Well-placed cliffhangers: Ending a chapter or scene with a suspenseful revelation or unresolved conflict can leave readers desperate for answers. By providing them with just enough information to pique their curiosity, you can ensure they keep turning the pages, eagerly awaiting the resolution to the tension-filled moment.
Building anticipation: Foreshadowing and hinting at future events can generate a sense of anticipation and dread. By dropping subtle clues throughout your narrative, you can plant seeds of unease in the reader’s mind, preparing them for a fearful moment that is yet to come.

Implementing these techniques can significantly enhance the suspense and tension in your storytelling, immersing readers in a world where fear lurks around every corner. Remember to balance these moments with periods of relief to prevent overwhelming your audience. By skillfully weaving suspense into your narrative, you can create an unforgettable reading experience that will leave your readers gripping the edge of their seats.

- Transforming Fear into Art: Balancing Descriptions and Reader Imagination

When it comes to writing, description plays a vital role in engaging readers and bringing the story to life. However, it’s often a challenge to strike the right balance between providing enough detail to captivate the reader’s imagination and allowing them to fill in the gaps with their own creativity. One area where this challenge is particularly evident is when it comes to describing fear.

Transforming fear into art requires finesse and careful consideration. Rather than explicitly telling readers what to fear, skilled writers use evocative language and sensory details to convey the emotions associated with fear. By relying on the power of suggestion, writers allow the reader’s imagination to take over, creating a more personalized and immersive experience. This approach not only enhances the emotional impact of the story but also allows readers to connect with the protagonist on a deeper level. Through skillful balance, writers offer just enough description to guide the reader’s imagination while leaving room for their own interpretation.

Use vivid language and strong adjectives to create a sense of unease without explicitly describing the fear itself.
Focus on describing the physical sensations and reactions of the character, such as racing heartbeats, trembling hands, or heightened senses.
Utilize metaphors and similes to evoke a strong emotional response in the reader.

By employing these techniques, writers can transform fear into art, engaging the reader’s imagination and allowing them to actively participate in the storytelling process. Remember, the goal is not to dictate every aspect of the reader’s experience but to provide a framework that allows them to interpret and engage with the fear in their own unique way.

- Mastering the Art of Fear: Tips and Tricks for Conveying Authentic Emotions

Fear is a powerful emotion that can captivate an audience and truly immerse them in a story. Whether you’re an aspiring actor, writer, or simply someone looking to better convey fear in your everyday life, mastering the art of expressing authentic fear can be a game-changer. Here are some invaluable tips and tricks to help you tap into this emotion and leave a lasting impact:

Understand the source: To convey fear convincingly, delve deep into the source of the fear your character or situation is experiencing. By understanding the underlying reasons behind the fear, you can create a more genuine portrayal that truly resonates with your audience.
Physicality matters: Fear manifests itself physically, so pay attention to both your body language and facial expressions. Use your body to your advantage, allowing it to tremble or become tense, while maintaining eye contact with intensity. Showcase fear through your posture and gestures, creating an authentic portrayal that will evoke a genuine emotional response from your audience.
Breath control: Fear can result in shallow or erratic breathing. Practice controlling your breath to mimic the effects of fear, such as quickened breaths or even holding your breath momentarily. This deliberate control will enhance the believability of your performance and allow your audience to truly connect with the emotions you’re expressing.

Mastering the art of fear is not about simply pretending to be scared; it’s about evoking genuine emotions within yourself and your audience. Remember, practice makes perfect , so take the time to experiment with different techniques and discover what works best for you. By incorporating these tips and tricks into your repertoire, you’ll be well on your way to truly mastering the art of fear and creating memorable and authentic emotional experiences for everyone involved.

Q: What is the purpose of crafting descriptions of fear in creative writing? A: Crafting descriptions of fear allows writers to evoke emotions in readers, creating a more immersive and engaging reading experience. It helps to build tension and suspense, making the story more realistic and relatable.

Q: How can writers effectively describe fear in their writing? A: By using sensory details, such as sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, writers can paint a vivid picture of fear in the reader’s mind. Additionally, incorporating strong verbs, metaphors, and powerful language can enhance the impact of the description.

Q: Are there any specific techniques that writers can employ to describe fear? A: Yes, writers can make use of similes to compare fearful situations to something familiar, creating a stronger connection for the reader. They can also employ foreshadowing or create a sense of anticipation to build fear gradually throughout the narrative.

Q: What are some common mistakes writers should avoid when describing fear? A: Writers should avoid relying on clichés or overused phrases, as it can detract from the originality and impact of their writing. It is also important not to overlook the emotional and psychological aspects of fear, as these elements can greatly enhance the believability of the description.

Q: Can you provide an example of a well-crafted description of fear? A: Certainly! Here’s an example: “Her heart pounded in her chest like a relentless drum, each beat echoing the terror coursing through her veins. The darkness enveloped her, suffocating any semblance of comfort, as she strained her ears to catch any sound that might reveal the lurking danger nearby.”

Q: What role do pacing and sentence structure play in describing fear? A: Pacing and sentence structure significantly impact the portrayal of fear in writing. Short, fragmented sentences and quick-paced descriptions can convey a sense of urgency and panic, while longer, more complex sentences can build tension and apprehension.

Q: How can writers ensure that their descriptions of fear have an emotional impact on readers? A: To have an emotional impact, writers should tap into the character’s internal thoughts and feelings associated with fear, balancing physical and emotional descriptions. By revealing the character’s vulnerability and vulnerability, readers can better empathize and connect with the experience of fear.

Q: Can readers experience fear through descriptions alone? A: Yes, skilled writers can make readers experience fear through descriptions alone. Through effectively painting a vivid and intense picture in readers’ minds, along with immersing them in the characters’ emotional journey, writers can evoke fear even without any tangible threats or danger.

Q: Is there a limit to how much fear can be described in a story? A: While fear can be a powerful tool in storytelling, overusing it can desensitize readers and dilute its impact. It is crucial to balance fear with other emotions, character development, and plot progression to maintain the desired effect without overwhelming the reader.

Q: Are there any valuable exercises or resources for writers looking to enhance their description of fear? A: Absolutely! Writers can benefit from practicing free writing, allowing their thoughts and emotions to flow freely without judgment. They can also read books or stories known for their captivating descriptions of fear and analyze how the authors construct scenes to evoke emotions in readers.

In conclusion, mastering the art of crafting descriptions of fear in creative writing adds depth and intensity to our stories, leaving readers feeling truly captivated and unsettled.

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Dealing with Obstacles and Developing Good Habits

Overcoming Writing Anxiety and Writer’s Block

two soldiers in twilight scaling a giant ladder on an obstacle course

You may be thinking, “All this advice is good, but sometimes I just get stuck! What I normally do just isn’t working!” That’s a familiar feeling for all writers. Sometimes the writing just seems to flow as if by magic, but then the flow stops cold. Your brain seems to have run out of things to say. If you just wait for the magic to come back, you might wait a long time. What professional writers know is that writing takes consistent effort. Writing comes out of a regular practice—a habit. Professional writers also know that not everything they write ends up in the final draft. Sometimes we have to write what Anne Lamott calls a “shitty rough draft.” One of my favorite writing professors, Duncan Carter, used to say that he was a terrible writer but a great reviser, and that’s what helped him write when inspiration wasn’t available. So how do writers get going when they feel stuck or uninspired? They develop a set of habits and have more than one way to write to get the words flowing again.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

You might associate the idea of writing anxiety or writer’s block with procrastination, and procrastination certainly can be either a cause or an effect of writing anxiety. You can learn more about procrastination later in this section of the text. But writing anxiety or writer’s block is more of a condition. We might even venture to call it an ailment. Uh oh. Do you have it? To aid you in self-diagnosis here, let’s take some time to figure out what it is. Then, if you find that you’re afflicted, we’ll help you to determine the best course of treatment.

What is Writing Anxiety and How Do You Know if You Have It?

Do you worry excessively about writing assignments? Do they make you feel uneasy or agitated? Do you have negative feelings about certain types of writing? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might suffer from writing anxiety. Writing anxiety simply means that a writer is experiencing negative feelings about a given writing task. The last of the questions above points out something important about this condition that has been afflicting writers everywhere for centuries: writing anxiety is often more about the audience and/or purpose for a given writing task than it is about the mere act of writing itself.

Let’s consider this situational nature of writing anxiety for a moment. Say you just bought a new pair of headphones. You brought them home, removed all the packaging, plugged them into your MP3 player, and they’re amazing! So you decide to visit the company website, and you write a stellar review of the product, giving it a five-star rating and including descriptive details about the headphones’ comfortable fit, excellent sound quality, ability to cancel outside noise, and reasonable price.

Now, let’s say that the next day in biology class your instructor covers the topic of biomes, and you learn about animal habitats and biodiversity and the interrelation and interdependence of species within biomes. You find it fascinating and can’t wait to learn more. But then something terrible happens. Your instructor assigns a term project on the subject. As your instructor begins to describe the length and other specifications for the report, complete with formatting guidelines, citation requirements, and a bibliography at the end, your palms start to sweat, your stomach feels uneasy, and you begin to have trouble focusing on anything else your instructor has to say. You’re experiencing writing anxiety.

Writing anxiety is the condition of feeling uneasy about writing. Writer’s block is what you experience when you can’t manage to put words on the page. But your condition isn’t about the act of writing. Just yesterday you wrote a great review for those cool new headphones. So why do you suddenly feel paralyzed by the thought of writing the biology essay? Let’s consider some possible causes.

What Causes Writing Anxiety?

The causes of writing anxiety are many. Here are just a few:

Inexperience with the type of writing task
Previous negative experiences with writing (e.g. someone, maybe a teacher, has given you negative feedback or said negative things about your writing)
Negative feelings bout writing (e.g. “I’m not a good writer”; “I hate writing.”)
Immediate deadline
Distant deadline
Lack of interest in the topic
Personal problems or life events

Level of experience may explain why you felt comfortable writing the headphone review while you break out in a sweat at the thought of the biology paper. If you’ve never written anything similar to a specific assignment, maybe you’re unsure about whether or not you can meet the assignment requirements or the teacher’s expectations. Or maybe the last time you turned in a written report for school you received negative feedback or a bad grade from the teacher. Maybe you procrastinated most of the term and now the paper is due next week and you feel overwhelmed. Or maybe it’s the second week of the term and the finals week deadline seems so far away that you’re not motivated to write.

Knowing the cause of your writing anxiety can help you move beyond it and get writing, even if you can’t completely eliminate the problem. If the topic doesn’t interest you or if you’re having problems at home, those probably aren’t issues that will just disappear, but if you try some of the following strategies, I think you’ll find that you can at least move forward with even the most anxiety-inducing of writing assignments.

Strategies for Overcoming or Managing Writing Anxiety

There are a number of strategies upon which you can draw to help you move past the feeling of being lost or stuck. Consider if some of the following tactics can help you to get writing again.

Just Start Writing

It might sound like it’s oversimplifying the matter, but it’s true. Half the battle is to just start writing. Try some strategies like freewriting or dialectic notetaking. (For more on freewriting, see “ Strategies for Getting Started ” in the “Prewriting” section of this text, and for more on dialectic notetaking , refer to the section on “Writing about Texts”). You should also believe in the importance of writing badly. Bruce Ballenger, a well-known writer and professor of English at Boise State explains why writing badly is an important part of the writing process:

Giving myself permission to write badly makes it much more likely that I will write what I don’t expect to write, and from those surprises will come some of my best writing. Writing badly is also a convenient alternative to staring off into space and waiting for inspiration.

a large block of unsculpted pottery clay

Sometimes the biggest problem writers have with getting started is that they feel like the writing needs to be good, or well organized, or they feel like they need to start at the beginning. None of that is true. All you need to do is start.

Have you ever seen a potter make a clay pot? Before a potter can start shaping or throwing a pot, they have to bring the big wet blob of clay and slap it down on the table. It’s heavy and wet and messy, but it’s the essential raw material. No clay? No pot. “Bad writing” is a lot like that. You have to dump all the words and ideas onto the table. Just get them out. Only then do you have the raw material you need to start shaping the words into something beautiful and lasting. You can wait until the revision stages to worry about shaping your writing to be its best. For now, just get the ideas on the table.

Create Smaller Tasks and Short-Term Goals

One of the biggest barriers to writing can be that the task just seems too large, and perhaps the due date is weeks away. Each of these conditions can contribute to feelings of being overwhelmed or to the tendency to procrastinate. But the remedy is simple and will help you keep writing something each week toward your deadline and toward the finished product: divide larger writing tasks into smaller, more manageable tasks and set intermediate deadlines.

The process that the authors used for writing this text provides a good example. As authors, we had to divide the text into sections, but we also had to plan the process for a first draft, peer reviews, and revisions, along with adding images, links, and other resources, not to mention the final publication of the text online. Had we not divided up the larger tasks into smaller ones and set short-term goals and deadlines, the process of writing the text would have been overwhelming. We didn’t meet every single intermediate deadline right on time, but they helped move us along and helped us to meet the most important deadline—the final one—with a complete text that was ready to publish on schedule.

Imagine that you have a term paper that’s assigned during Week 1 of a eleven-week term, and it’s due during finals week. Make a list of all the tasks you can think of that need to be completed, from beginning to end, to accomplish all that the assignment requires. List the tasks, and assign yourself due dates for each task. Consider taking it a step further and create a task table that allows you to include a column for additional notes. Here’s an example:

Collaborate

Get support from a friend, family member, or classmate. Talk to your friends or family, or to a tutor in your college writing center, about your ideas for your essay. Sometimes talking about your ideas is the best way to flesh them out and get more ideas flowing. Write down notes during or just after your conversation. Classmates are a great resource because they’re studying the same subjects as you, and they’re working on the same assignments. Talk to them often, and form study groups. Ask people to look at your ideas or writing and to give you feedback. Set goals and hold each other accountable for meeting deadlines (a little friendly competition can be motivating!).

Talk to other potential readers. Ask them what they would expect from this type of writing. Meet with a tutor in your campus writing center. Be sure to come to the appointment prepared with a printed copy of the assignment and a short list of what you want to work on, along with a printed copy of your essay.

For more about getting help from a tutor see “Why Meet with a Writing Tutor?” and “Preparing to Meet with a Tutor” in the “ Giving and Receiving Feedback ” section of this text.

Embrace Reality

Don’t imagine the situation of your writing assignment to be any better or worse than it really is. There are some important truths for you to recognize:

Focus on what you do best rather than fretting about your perceived weaknesses.
Acknowledge that writing can be difficult and that all you need to do is do your best.
Recognize what might be new or unfamiliar about the type of writing that you’re doing.
Understand that confusion and frustration is a natural part of experiencing new things, and it’s okay; it’s part of the learning process.
Remember that you’re a student and that you’re supposed to be experiencing things that are new and unfamiliar (new formats, new audiences, new subject matter, new processes, new approaches, etc.).
Repeat the mantra, “It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be DONE.”

Seek Out Experts

If you can, find more experienced writers (especially related to the type of writing that you’re doing) and ask them questions. Sometimes, this might just mean a friend or family member who’s already taken a couple years of college courses. Maybe it’s a fellow student who has already taken the class you’re taking now. Also, the tutors in your college writing center can be a big help at any stage in the writing process. Give them a call and make an appointment. And don’t forget the expert you see all the time throughout any class that you take: your instructor. Ask your instructor for suggestions. That’s what she’s there for.

Another way to learn from the experience of others is to look at examples of other pieces of writing of the type that you’re working on. How is this piece organized? Does it make use of source material? What sort of tone does it use? If you don’t know where to find examples, ask your instructor. If he doesn’t have them at the ready, he’ll likely be able to give you some suggestions about where to find some.

The Word on College Reading and Writing Copyright © by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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36 Creative Ways People Describe Their Anxiety to Those Who Don't Understand

Everyone knows what it’s like to feel nervous. It’s what rattles you before a big test, and what makes your heart beat a little faster before a first date. But for people who live with anxiety, it’s frustrating when your experience is likened to the everyday nervousness everyone feels.

Mighty contributor B.L. Acker knows this well. She wrote :

Whenever I start to explain the part of my mental illness diagnosis that includes severe anxiety, I always receive confused looks. They are usually followed by judgmental comments about how “everyone has problems and stress in their lives,” telling me that I need to “learn to cope and work through it all.”

To help people understand what her anxiety was like, Acker did something creative — she made an anxiety chart , similar to a pain level chart, and now uses it to explain how anxious she feels to loved ones.

Inspired by this, we wanted to see other creative ways people explain their anxiety to others who may not understand.

Here’s what our mental health community shared with us :

1. “[Anxiety is] a gremlin who undermines you and sits there talking crap constantly.” — Alex G.

2. “I named her Sierra. The girl in my head I can keep caged up sometimes. But she screams, so loudly and so horribly, that it breaks her cage. Then she brings out the club and mercilessly beats me up with everything I have ever done in my life, all while screaming at me that I’m a failure, and I deserve nothing good in my life. All I can do is curl up in the fetal position while she violently strikes me with the weight of my mistakes.” — Sarah G.

3. “It’s like having super powers but having no control over them. It’s the strength of the Hulk, but it comes out as anger. It’s Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, but you can’t choose when you get to wear it. It’s wanting to be as brave as Batman, but being too afraid to leave the bat cave. It’s knowing you are a superhero, but you are stuck in a body/mind that won’t let you. It’s wanting to save the world, but you can’t even save yourself.” — Bex A.

4. “When I’m on the edge of a panic attack, it feels like my brain is breaking. Like it’s being split into two hemispheres.” — Kerrie W.

5. “You know those special effects in movies when the character is moving in slow motion, but their surroundings are racing past them? That’s what it’s like.” — Alyssa K.

6. “It almost feels like your mind is stuck on vibrate and you can’t calm it down.” — Roxy R.

7. “It’s the feeling of worry you get when you can’t sleep because you have an important exam the next morning. Except it’s there for many other reasons at many different times.” — Anahita H.

8. “It’s like a thousand tabs are open at the same time and you have to watch them carefully, each one of them at the same time. But then everything closes down with no warning, and it’s like a fatal error, and nothing seems to work anymore.” — Emu S.

9. “Panic attacks give you a pulse of adrenaline like you got rear-ended going 70 down the highway. All sense of fear and survival are heightened, but in actuality, you’re just in line at a cafe for a muffin.” — Chandra G.

10. “It feels like you’re wading in water, and on your bad days you’re drowning and can’t catch your breath.” — Kristen B.

11. “It’s having your body reacting to a real emergency while your brain is wondering what the emergency is — because there is not one. But your body continues and you cannot turn off the alarm.” — Cathy W.

12. “It’s the panic-y feeling you get when you’re underwater in a dream and you think you’re drowning, when you can actually breath just fine.” — Mikelle M.

13. “If you went skydiving for the first time and you pulled the ripcord and your chute didn’t open — my panic attacks feel like how you would feel in that second.” — Kitty C.

14. “Imagine being stressed about a test. Your heart is racing, your breathing quickens… And now imagine having that feeling constantly — 24/7 for no reason and every reason at the same time.” — Michelle W.

15. “It’s that bad feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when something bad is going to happen. Except it’s all the time, and you never find out what the bad thing that’s going to happen is.” — Hali B.

16. “That constant feeling when you miss a step walking down stairs or you almost fall back in your chair.” — Tim G.

17. “It’s like water sloshing in your stomach, you can feel it crashing around, hitting all sides, changing in intensity, getting worse and worse.” — Kaitlyn R.

18. “I call it my shoulder devil because it’s always whispering horrible things in my head and I can’t stop it.” — Alyson S.

19. “My anxiety is so bad at times that this is all I can do. Just sit and let it happen. I get so tired, I have no more fight.” — Kelly H.

20. “It’s like the walls are closing in and you have no means of escape.” — Heather S.

21. Submitted by Lucy Hackett

22. “It’s like having a hamster on a hamster wheel or a carousel on steroids inside of your head.” — Madison A.

23. “Everything is screaming, even the silence.” — Chelsea G.

24. “It’s like having your brain on overload. It’s on fire and you can’t put the fire out.” — Bethan L.

25. “This is what my brain looks like during an anxiety attack. I can’t formulate sentences or full ideas. I’m in a full panic.” — Kacey K

26. “I feel like my insides are going to explode.” — Tami G.

27. “You know that three seconds of fear you get when you slip, trip, etc.? It’s like that. All day, every day.” — Stephanie Q.

28. “You know that feeling of laughing so hard with your friend, you just look at them, and you start again and can’t stop. That on the opposite end of the spectrum. I cry and have no control over it. And I don’t know why I’m crying. Other than that, it would be feeling overwhelmed over little things.” — Coral M.

29. “You know that feeling you get when you’re faced with your greatest fear? It’s like that … but for the littlest things like getting a haircut or something as simple as riding in a car.” — Reba E.

30. “Like trying to find air while you’re underwater. Impossible.” — Emma G.

31 . “It’s living with a feeling of doom constantly, or that you’ve forgotten something and can’t remember what.” — Christiana T.

32. Submitted by Maree M.

33. “When you’re driving and see a cop car come out of nowhere and you get that rush of fear that you’ve done something wrong, when you haven’t and they are not there for you at all. But the feeling never leaves, even after the cop car has gone.” — Courtney D.

34. “You know that feeling of falling when you’re asleep? That moment of sheer panic when you jerk awake right before you realize you don’t have to be scared? It’s that. All the time.” — Meghan D.

35. “Like constant chatter jumping from subject to subject and going down a rabbit hole in my head.” — Jordan T.

36. “You know when you’re watching a scary movie and the music changes so you know there’s going to be a jump scare any moment and you don’t know when? It’s like that except the jump scare never comes.” — Nikki G.

How would you describe your anxiety to someone who doesn’t understand?

Former Mighty editor // Current MSW student // In love with helping people tell their stories

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Emmmie Heart New Member

Describe anxiety..

Discussion in ' Character Development ' started by Emmmie Heart , Mar 17, 2018 .

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); So my MC has some serious anxiety. Now I have anxiety myself mostly having to do with time, being early to work and have a routine set up through the day, or driving, and thinking negatively all the time thinking of the "What ifs". I know that there is different types of Anxiety, such as one with change, such as she has to do when her apartment is being demolished and has to move. Now I don't have this anxiety because I moved a lot as a child. So, how do I truly describe this anxiety when it is already hard to put into words.

izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); With things like this I always recommend talking to / reading things from people who do have the condition in question, rather than asking other writers. That said, I would focus on the root of the anxiety. I'm someone for whom routine and sameness feel safe -- the feeling is that as long as things continue the way they've been going, it'll be okay, so any deviation from the routine opens up the potential for bad things to happen. It sounds especially traumatic for her home to be taken away. That's typically someone's safe space, where they can get away from external stressors and have the most control over the environment. And it's not like she's being evicted -- it's being demolished . The place she feels safest in is being destroyed ; there's no way she can ever go back to it. That might bring on a feeling that she'll never be able to feel safe again, or at the very least, it's going to be a long time before she's able to settle in to somewhere new and regain the sense of safety. Change itself can be stressful because it's full of unknowns. All of those 'what ifs' are compounded by "What if I'm not even thinking of all the what ifs?" -- it can feel safer and even soothing in a way to try to 'plan' for every potential problem, but all you're really doing is making yourself obsess over worst possible outcomes. She doesn't know where she's going to live, so she's 'planning' for what she'll do if she has to live in some horrible situation -- what if my new landlord is a serial killer? will I be able to fight him off? what if I can't find anywhere to live at all? can I survive on the street? what will I do when it's winter? When your brain is really good at finding things to be nervous about, it's easy to spin off into absurd scenarios. All that said, it's really dependent on her -- who she is as a person, how well she manages her anxiety, whether she's on medication for it. If she is medicated, something like this could easily trigger an emotional state that her current medication's not able to handle. If she's been in therapy, she might have a better chance of realizing that she's overreacting, and you could have her attempting to self-soothe and regulate herself (to whatever degree of success). Ditto if she's been dealing with anxiety for a long time and is just kinda used to it / how it makes her behave. Despite having anxiety, I'm a pretty level-headed person who's capable of going, "Okay, I'm being an idiot, and I need to go sit down somewhere and catch my breath, that's all." Is she the type of person to do that, or is she less experienced / has more severe, possibly unmedicated anxiety that's going to cause her to spin off into panic attack mode and have a breakdown? That's up to you.

Dragon Turtle Deadlier Jerry

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); I hate moving. Oh god, I have too much stuff. How am I going to pack it all? What about the fragile stuff? What if I don't have enough boxes? What if I get sick or hurt right before moving day? How am I going to find a new place to live? What if every place turns me down because of bad credit? Everywhere wants proof of income nowadays. How much do storage units cost? I'm going to have to put all my furniture in one and go stay with my sister. What if she says no and I have to stay in a hotel? That's not any cheaper than renting a place. In fact it'll be worse because I'll have to eat out for every meal. Who's going to help me move? Should I hire movers? That's a money sink right there. But if I get a U-Haul I'll have to do the thing where you put stickers on any spot that's damaged so they don't charge you for the damage, and I might miss one, so I'd better take timestamped photos like the last time I had a rental car. Oh god, last time I moved I was in the old apartment until 1 AM cleaning it out and I still got slapped with cleaning fees. What about my cat? He's too old to deal with this. I can't take him away from his home, that'd be cruel. I'm going to miss this place so much. How the hell can they just kick people out of their homes like this? What's my commute going to be like in the new place? What if the only place I can find is like an hour's commute time? Am I going to have to quit my job? Do I have time to find a new place AND give notice? Do I even have enough money for a security deposit? What about places that want first and last month's rent? What if I wind up somewhere that seems nice at first but is actually a disaster? Everywhere I can afford has terrible reviews on apartmentratings.com... Brought to you by: Dragon Turtle, who has anxiety and also really hates moving.

T_L_K Senior Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); Mmm... She's lost an important point of reference. She is destabilised. She is agitated by sudden changes which are forcing her to move into unknown territory. The feeling of being unsettled makes her feel restless. Her life's balance is being suddenly disrupted. Yes?

GlitterRain7 Galaxy Girl Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); Anxiety could be feeling like there's some sort of impending doom, even when nothing can go wrong.

O.M. Hillside Senior Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); Okay, so she's moving and it's making her anxious. I also moved a lot as a child, so I don't get anxious about that. But from general observations and people who've talked to me about feeling nervous/anxious about this they tend to tell me stuff like: Worried they won't make any friends at the new place they'll live in, and so they'll be alone. Expand that and you got something substantial there. They're going to miss it here. The familiarity, the knowing where everything is, knowing the people, having a place in society that they're comfortable with. There's really a good amount of anxiety here with having that knowledge that you're about to go somewhere you do not know. Worried that the people in the new place are going to be stuck up or rude or aloof or xenophobic(closed off to new people). Similar to one, but slightly different. Nervous about the crime levels of the new place. Nervous about the class of the area, the property value, the culture. Things like that.

Privateer Senior Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); izzybot said: ↑ With things like this I always recommend talking to / reading things from people who do have the condition in question, rather than asking other writers. Click to expand...

John Grant Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); Emmmie Heart said: ↑ So my MC has some serious anxiety. Now I have anxiety myself mostly having to do with time, being early to work and have a routine set up through the day, or driving, and thinking negatively all the time thinking of the "What ifs". I know that there is different types of Anxiety, such as one with change, such as she has to do when her apartment is being demolished and has to move. Now I don't have this anxiety because I moved a lot as a child. So, how do I truly describe this anxiety when it is already hard to put into words. Click to expand...

DeeDee Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); Emmmie Heart said: ↑ how do I truly describe this anxiety when it is already hard to put into words. Click to expand...

ITBA01 Active Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); I have anxiety at times, and I'll try to describe it the best I can. Basically, I tended to get anxious about change, especially with regards to schedules. It was a big problem with me at my previous job. Many of the workers were quite lazy, and I often had to do their jobs as well, which lead to my schedule changing. Also, when I would get a pizza order when I was about to do something else, or about to leave, I would also get anxious. Having to stay late was another thing that set me off a bit. Essentially, changes to routine, even if in the grand scheme weren't very big deals, caused me to get anxious, and sometimes angry. I usually kept it private, but not always, a fact which I am ashamed of, and am trying to work on. If I were to best describe what it feels like, I would say you get a complete one track mind, to the point where everything else becomes secondary, including reason and logic. You start to sweat, and try and do things quickly, which can result in mistakes, which means you have to take even longer. Sometimes, you try and blame others, in an attempt to justify your anger, which just increases your anxiety. After it passes, and you begin to think more rationally, you feel ashamed, and want to do better next time. However, that's easier said than done. Hope this helped.

Mink Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); I moved a lot as a kid, but have anxiety (officially diagnosed as social anxiety, but I experience other types and it often centers around my pets). For myself, any form of anxiety feels like someone wrapped a hand around my gut and continues to tighten and tighten as the situation grows closer and closer. My heart races, my thoughts begin to stagger, and my mouth dries. The unreasonable thoughts war with the logical side of me. I know my dogs will be fine in the car for the several hour drive; I know the door is locked; and I know the stove is turned off. However, the thoughts ask, "Are you sure?" and this repeats itself until I force myself to listen to the advice psychologists have given me. Really, for your situation, any sort of anxiety-themed feelings could likely work.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); Privateer said: ↑ Pretty much every human being who ever lived has experienced anxiety. It's just an emotion like sadness or joy. There are anxiety disorders where people feel it more than is normal, but it's still the same emotion; it just won't go away when it ought to. Asking what 'different kinds of anxiety' feel like is like asking what different kinds of happiness feel like or different kinds of anger. There are as many answers as there are people in the world. More, in fact. Does my happiness when I'm in the woods with my son feel different to Bob's happiness when he has a nice curry? Would my curry-related happiness feel the same as Bob's? Click to expand...

John-Wayne Madman Extradinor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); Imagine being rational, logical and calm. Now imagine your mind doing the opposite and realizing it. Edit: and unable to regain control of yourself

LastMindToSanity Contributor Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); Emmmie Heart said: ↑ Now I don't have this anxiety because I moved a lot as a child. So, how do I truly describe this anxiety when it is already hard to put into words. Click to expand...

Danyal New Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); I believe everyone has their own anxiety problems, meaning that we have our own form of anxiety and you should try to describe this yourself. Try Creating a mind map of your feelings at the time, use the 3 base feelings as help.

Rick Hansen Member

TheRealStegblob Kill All Mages Contributor

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); My girlfriend suffers from anxiety and agoraphobia. I myself have never gotten a panic attack or really had anything other than mild anxiousness (aside from the very rare weird "about to fall asleep but have a sudden weird jolt of anxiety" that happens for no god damn reason). If she were going to move, she'd be freaked out about people seeing her. She'd be afraid people would see her 'messing up' or not doing something right and that anyone through any window anywhere might be looking at her and judging her somehow. That's an incredibly simple way of putting it, but it's those really morbid and silly things that trigger her, even if she knows how silly it is. She knows fully well no one would be looking at her or watching her or judging her on anything, but that still freaks her out. Also, having to go anywhere she's "trapped" in any way, like between aisles at a super market or something. She gets really freaked out in the middle of aisles because if she has to 'escape' for some reason, she'd need to go all the way to either side of the aisle to exit it. That's just general descriptions of her anxiety. I hope it can help you at all.

mashers Contributor Contributor Community Volunteer

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); I would focus on the physical sensations and reactions first - pounding heart, shortness of breath, agitation, knot in stomach... this will help the reader to empathise with what the character is experiencing as we can all relate to those sensations. Then describe the thought process and behaviours. When in a state of anxiety one will often repeat the same thought pattern over and over again, and/or jump rapidly from one thought to another in a runaway fashion. You can use both of these in your description of the character's thoughts, perhaps dropping the word count in each sentence to give a breathless, panicked feel to the passage during which she is anxious.

DueNorth Senior Member

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('funpub_e092ae89a72c51f8fd98c1b3438db34a'); }); There may be a little confusion in the responses you are getting generated by some confusion in the question itself. You seem to be confusing the experience of the feeling of anxiety —which we all have and is actually necessary to live since it is an internal signal of danger—with “triggers” for anxiety. All of can get triggered by some similar things, for example, an unexpected loud noise in the middle of the night. And some of us are mildly or massively triggered by things that are of little bother to others. As writers, we can make up that our characters are triggered by all kinds of things. But how we describe their manifesting the anxiety is really all about description. You certainly have been anxious (read fearful) in your life. Describe it, embellish it, make the reader feel it. The fact that your main character’s anxiety is being triggered by moving does not alter how you describe anxiety. Anxiety is manifested similarly irregardless of the nature of the trigger.

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How To Reduce Stress Through Creative Writing

As you likely know, stress has negative consequences on our physical, mental, and emotional health. It negatively affects functioning in our personal and professional lives.

And stress can easily get out of control before we even realize it, and pretty soon we are not doing well.

It can be detrimental to relationships and our overall well-being. Stress is a reason that we stop deriving joy from things we once loved. It prevents us from parenting and caregiving to the best of our abilities. It makes us avoid intimacy and interaction.

Because of this, stress should be combated with multiple interventions. We often need multiple layers of self-care to ensure our wellness.

So, have you ever thought that writing or journalling would be a great way to reduce your stress?

If not, you should, and today I’ll tell you why.

One way to reduce stress is through creative writing. It can be surprisingly therapeutic to put pen to paper (either literally or metaphorically, on a computer) and see what appears.

And we may be surprised by what we see at the end of a creative writing session.

Writing is one way to help us make sense of the world around us, as well as our feelings and thought processes. It is similar to art in this way but perhaps not often thought of when we think about managing our stress.

What Is The Science Behind Reducing Stress By Creative Writing?

Research has found that creative writing can reduce stress in individuals, supporting the effectiveness of writing in wellness.

Creative writing, however, may be more helpful for individuals experiencing stress separate from a significant mental health disorder.

This suggests that creative writing does have the ability to make positive changes, but it cannot be the sole treatment for significant struggles with mental health.

Creative writing has been found to help individuals relax – and the inability to relax creates a lot of stress. Or often stress prevents us from being able to relax.

Individuals who write, according to a Harvard study, are less likely to access health services to help with their overall wellness. This study was conducted in students who arguably experience a significant amount of stress, which is extremely positive because college can be very difficult and stress-inducing.

Studies have found that writing can initially upset individuals more, but in the long run helps them to relax.

This could be because feelings and thoughts come up in writing that we may have been avoiding or repressing prior to engaging in a writing activity.

This could especially occur for those who choose to journal instead of writing stories or less personal forms of writing.

While this can be true, it is important to not give up. Feeling comfortable likely means that you are on the path to your creative writing helping to reduce stress.

Writing also helps us to organize thoughts. It helps to process information and especially traumatic events – and processing such trauma can help to reduce overall stress and anxiety as trauma creates stress, anxiety, and depression in many people.

Processing this trauma, or beginning to, can help us regulate our emotions and help us assign meaning in our lives. This is necessary and important personal work, but it is not easy and may require support from professionals.

Writing also helps us to be willing to talk to others about our experiences. This especially helps us to recovery from whatever could be causing us stress.

Humans were never meant to manage or process anything in silos. We have always needed each other for recovering from stress but often times we feel as though we have to do it all alone.

As we begin to open up and practise vulnerability, we break down stigmas and develop interventions to combat stress together.

How Else Can Writing Help With My Stress?

Writing, similar to reading a book or listening to music, can offer us a respite from our stress. It can help us to escape. In small doses, distraction can be a powerful tool. When used all the time, however, we avoid growth and addressing things that need addressed, which is, of course, counterproductive.

Writing can help us to form worlds in our heads that we did not know even existed. This creativity, like any other, can be freeing and exciting and stress can tend to melt away. This is a very freeing experience.

We should feel proud of things that we create. Telling a story, whether true or not, is a beautiful thing and we should allow ourselves to feel that pride and excitement in our accomplishments and our abilities. Feeling proud of one’s self can also help to reduce stress.

What Types Of Writing Can I Do?

Free writing is one type of writing you can focus on. This involves choosing a topic and getting started. It is often an easy way to begin creative writing. The key to free writing is not to make judgements about what comes out when you write. Whatever it is you have to say needs to be said and processed.

Another approach to free writing is to choose three random words (preferably nouns) and start then just start writing, the only rule being that all three of those words must appear within the first paragraph. After that, you just see where your writing takes you. The goal with this version of free writing is not to try to open up about any particular thoughts, emotions, or memories, but to let your mind go where it wants, with no restrictions, other than maybe setting a time limit (e.g. five minutes). (This is also a great warm-up exercise if you’re experiencing writer’s block.)

The crucial thing with free-writing is not to edit as you go – you can do that later, if necessary.

Poetry is another form of writing. Writing poetry can be very fun and creative. This is especially true for individuals who are very visual and love language. Poetry is very artistic. Remember to focus on your different senses and how you feel about them as you write poetry.

And of course there are different styles of poetry:

You can choose the more traditional style, where each line follows a specific pattern (or metre) and includes rhymes at the end of lines. Certain types of classical poetry also have a fixed number of lines (e.g. sonnets, which usually consist of 14 lines). This can work for people who enjoy structure, although if you’re not this type of person, forcing yourself to try it can activate pathways in your brain that may be underutilized.
Then there is the more free-form style of poetry. In this style, metre (or rhythm) is less important, there is no need for rhymes, and they can be as long as you like.
Acrostic poems can be fun (and a type I have literally written hundreds of over the past decade or so). With this style of poem, you think of a short word or phrase, the only constraint being that it must have an even number of letters (8 – 16 works well). These letters then become the first letter of each line of your poem, which is normally a rhyming poem.
Haiku is another fun and easy way to create ultra-short poems. It’s a traditional Japanese form of poetry, that comprises just three lines. These three lines contain five, seven, and five syllables respectively. Haiku is often about some aspect of nature, and may be somewhat abstract rather than simply describing something purely physical.

There are, of course, other types of poetry, but this list will give you plenty of scope to play around with.

Fiction is another obvious type of writing you can do.

They say that everybody has (at least) one novel in them, but trust me, it’s a lot of work.

But you don’t have to write a 100,000+ word story – you can start small with short stories or novellas (which are often 5,000 – 20,000 words), or even smaller with what’s known as flash fiction.

Flash fiction is essentially an ultra-short story – anywhere from 100 words to maybe a thousand or two. My personal preference, for no particular reason, is 500 words, but you should try different lengths to see what works best for you.

While flash fiction may be short, it still needs to keep to standard storytelling rules – e.g. it still needs a beginning, middle, and end, even though this may all be highly compressed.

While not creative, non-fiction is another type of writing you can do. This can take the form of an article or report, or an essay. The key is to write quickly, so it shouldn’t be something you need to do a ton of research for.

Alternatively, it can be more of a brain dump about how you feel.

Finally, letter writing can be very therapeutic even though, once again, it’s not strictly creative.

If you have stress being caused by your relationships, it can be helpful to reduce stress by writing a letter, regardless of where you send it or not.

You could write a letter if you are angry, sad, happy, or indifferent. You can say everything you need to say and be very objective because nobody will be responding or talking back.

It goes without saying, however, that if you do choose to send your letters, people will have the opportunity to respond to whatever you have to say.

I actually combined these last two approaches when I was clinically depressed.

I was actually on vacation at the time, with my first wife, and I spent the first two or three days of the holiday typing what ended up being a 12,000+ word book. It wasn’t meant to be a published book when I started though – I just needed to get a whole ton of stuff off my chest, mainly to help me surface everything I was feeling about my situation, including the entire history of how I’d got there, and to decide what to do about it.

And it worked – really well.

You can download a short document that contains example of most of the above here .

How Do I Start Writing If I Never Have Before?

If you are wanting to get started writing but are unsure of where to start, you should find a quiet space, free from distractions.

Starting with free writing or letter writing will be the easiest for many people. Identify the method that feels best for you: writing or typing.

Get in a comfortable position and perhaps put on light background music (preferably instrumental as it’s less distracting for most people) as this can be helpful to focusing on the task at hand.

Then just go.

It is really that simple.

Write about what is on your mind. Things you are excited about or things that you are anxious about. Write about love or loss. Write whatever needs to be written. Or just write for the fun of writing – it could literally be complete gibberish (I’m thinking Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll) if you want, as long as it helps you relieve your stress.

It may be helpful to you to carry your laptop, pad, or tablet on you wherever you go so that you can write whenever you feel compelled to. This ensures that you are able to reduce your stress through writing whenever it occurs.

I Cannot Seem To Start. What Are Some Writing Prompts That Could Help Me Get Started?

Here are just a few ideas to get your cogs turning:

Identify a recent dream you had. What do you think about it?
What does it feel like to love and be loved in return?
Are there things that make you sad that you don’t allow yourself to think about?
Write about an interaction you witnessed that made you either comfortable or uncomfortable.
What do you think about your job?
If you could do anything, what would you do?
What excites you? What makes you fearful?
What does it feel like to wake up in the morning?

Personal Experience

I used to dislike writing intensely when I was at school, and I wasn’t very good at it either. (I’m sure the two are related.)

In my job, for many years, I wrote a lot of technical documents (I worked in information technology), and in my hobby, I wrote newsletters on a monthly basis for years – but none of that was creative.

In the 1990s I also wrote a book on a topic that bridged mathematics and magic (of the conjuring variety), but again – not creative.

My passion for creative writing only began in my 40s, when I met the lady who was later to be my second wife online (via a mutual interest in business, not via a dating site).

I started writing love poems to her – one a day for years, even after we were married. I’d never written poems before (other than a small number at school when I had no choice), but I enjoyed the activity. Not only was it a way to show my future wife how much I loved her, but it stimulated my brain in ways that other types of writing didn’t.

Since then, I have written thousands of poems, hundreds of haiku, a full-length novel, over 30 short stories / flash fiction, and even a few erotica novellas.

While these books are for sale (for the most part), it wasn’t the driving force for me. I found out that I had really developed an interest in it.

And I can testify that creative writing is a really great way to forget your day-to-day issues. You can create and be immersed in your own world, your own characters, even your own languages if you want to go that far – because you truly are limited only by your imagination.

I strongly recommend you give creative writing a try – you may find, like I did, that you have a passion for it, and that it also helps relieve stress.

Even if you only write for a few minutes a day, that’s OK – it shouldn’t be a chore, but something you look forward to.

And don’t forget – nobody else need ever see what you write, unless, of course, you want them to. This by itself can be a great stress reliever, because you can write whatever you want, about whomever you want, safe in the knowledge that it will remain as private as you wish it to be.

And if you do choose to publish your creations, then great – just make sure your work is fully proofread and edited beforehand.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

Creative Writing Courses
Writing Prompts

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How to Describe Nervousness in Writing (23 Tips + Examples)
Here is how to describe nervousness in writing: Describe nervousness in writing by using vivid language and sensory details. Show physical symptoms like shaking hands or quick breathing. Use dialogue tags such as "stammered," internal dialogue, and pacing to build tension. Use words like "jittery" or "heart pounding" to deepen ...
How To Describe a Panic Attack in Writing (Ultimate Guide)
To describe the emotional side of a panic attack, think of it as a swirling maelstrom of fear and anxiety. This metaphor underscores the intensity and unpredictability of the feelings during an attack. Example: The panic attack descended upon Sarah like a maelstrom, a swirling vortex of fear and anxiety.
Writing Anxiety Descriptions: A Guide to Authenticity
Conclusion. You've learned the art of describing anxiety in writing. You now understand the power of authenticity, the importance of personalizing your character's fears, and the effectiveness of showing rather than telling. You've grasped the significance of sensory details and strategic use of metaphors and similes.
Write Anxiety for a Character with Inner Conflict
A phobia is when someone is afraid of a specific thing, like spiders or heights. To write this type of anxiety will require some backstory to explain the source of this anxiety. Foreshadowing may also be helpful to make the phobia seem more realistic. Phobias will cause your character overwhelming anxiety. But only concerning the specific fear.
creative writing
4. Be very careful about showcasing anxiety in dialog. People love using an excessive amount of "ums" and "ahs" for this along with outright stuttering, but in my opinion this very often comes across far more like a speech disorder than nervousness. Conflating stuttering with excessive nerves and anxiety is both inaccurate and offensive, and as ...
How to Write a Realistic Panic Attack
How to write a panic attack. The most important thing you need to know is that not everyone knows what's happening the first time they have a panic attack. Especially if they've never had one before. The heart palpitations can often be confused with having a heart attack. In some cases, a panic attack can hurt more than a heart attack ...
creative writing
First; the simple: "He/I was nervous".. - Not a lot to misinterpret, but not a lot for the reader to feel either. Second; the less simple: "He/I did this, said this, felt this" - the "this's" in the example above would then be replaced with examples of behaviour that people are familiar with connecting to nervousness: Stuttering / repeating ...
Creative Writing Anxiety: What It Is and How to Overcome It
That's kind of the opposite from what you need to be a writer. Creative writing is about exploring: going through the different layers of your life, of your memory, coming up with something that you want said. And if you're suffering from perfectionism, which is very common, it can be difficult.
How to Write Anxiety: the Triggers, Symptoms, and Treatment
Key physical symptoms. Joint pain, particularly around the neck and shoulders. Dry mouth/constant thirst. Fidgeting—someone with anxiety probably won't be able to sit still and will bite their nails, rub their hands together, play with their hair, pick at their cuticles…you get the idea. Chewing on their lips.
Writing Anxiety
What are writing anxiety and writer's block? "Writing anxiety" and "writer's block" are informal terms for a wide variety of apprehensive and pessimistic feelings about writing. These feelings may not be pervasive in a person's writing life. For example, you might feel perfectly fine writing a biology lab report but apprehensive ...
Master List of Ways to Describe Fear
People have been asking me for this list for such a long time! If you write horror, suspense, mystery, or any kind of fiction with a scary scenes, you need to know how to describe fear. This list can get you started. It's a lot of phrases describing fear, including physical reactions, physical sensations, facial…
Anxiety
Anxiety thoughts are akin to driving around the block over and over, faster and faster. It's pointless. Stop. Let your thoughts be as a car on a good road, taking the hills and valleys just the same, heading into the far horizon your passions call you toward. You owe it to yourself to take control of the wheel.
How to Describe Worry in Writing
When you're writing about worry, it's important to portray the character's innermost thoughts and fears. One way to do this is to use descriptive language. For example, instead of simply saying, " I'm worried about the upcoming exam ," the person might say, " I'm scared about the upcoming exam.
How to Describe Fear in Writing (21 Best Tips + Examples)
Tip 1: Get to Know the Type of Fear. Understanding the type of fear your character is experiencing can make a huge difference in your writing. Fear comes in various forms such as phobias, existential fear, traumatic fear, or even something as simple as a sudden surprise. Knowing the difference will help you convey the emotion accurately and ...
How To Write A Realistic Panic Attack: 22 Tips With Written ...
Make the person having a panic attack breathe in their fists. Writing example: "Good, now make a fist", she told Marjorie. She saw her do as told, though shakily. Good, her friend was listening at least. "Now breathe in", she performed an inward motion with her hands. "And out," she breathed out with Marjorie.
Fearful Whispers: Crafting Descriptions of Fear in Creative Writing
Fearful Whispers: Crafting Descriptions of Fear in Creative Writing Fear is a powerful emotion that can grip readers and elevate a story to new heights. In this article, we explore techniques to create vivid and evocative descriptions of fear, taking readers on an unforgettable journey through the darkest corners of the human psyche. From chilling atmospheres to heart-pounding encounters ...
Overcoming Writing Anxiety and Writer's Block
You might associate the idea of writing anxiety or writer's block with procrastination, and procrastination certainly can be either a cause or an effect of writing anxiety. You can learn more about procrastination later in this section of the text. But writing anxiety or writer's block is more of a condition. We might even venture to call ...
36 Creative Ways People Describe Their Anxiety to Those Who Don't
7. "It's the feeling of worry you get when you can't sleep because you have an important exam the next morning. Except it's there for many other reasons at many different times.". — Anahita H. 8. "It's like a thousand tabs are open at the same time and you have to watch them carefully, each one of them at the same time.
Can Creative Writing Ease Anxiety? 4 Startling Ways It Can
The act of creating something physical is also a way to expel the extra energy so often produced by anxiety, and this can be a great release. The final reason is critical to grasp. 4 - Creative writing can provide a way for you to be in control. You are in control of your story. Often anxiety can stem from a feeling of a lack of control.
Describe Anxiety.
For myself, any form of anxiety feels like someone wrapped a hand around my gut and continues to tighten and tighten as the situation grows closer and closer. My heart races, my thoughts begin to stagger, and my mouth dries. The unreasonable thoughts war with the logical side of me.
How To Reduce Stress Through Creative Writing
Feeling comfortable likely means that you are on the path to your creative writing helping to reduce stress. Writing also helps us to organize thoughts. It helps to process information and especially traumatic events - and processing such trauma can help to reduce overall stress and anxiety as trauma creates stress, anxiety, and depression in ...
13 Writing Prompts to Help You Navigate Anxiety
Writing, painting, playing music, or any other form of creative expression can be a helpful way to release pent-up emotions and process your anxiety. Write about a time when you used creativity to cope with anxiety. Connect with others. Talking to someone you trust about your anxiety can help you to feel less alone and more supported.