1. Writing things that scare them and take them out of their comfort zones.
2. Balancing writing with all the other things that require space and energy and time in their lives.
3. Gathering the confidence to take a chance on a (maybe) crazy idea.
4. Following through on a project from start to finish. (Sometimes it’s just DIFFICULT, you know?)
5. Finding the right words to say exactly what they want to say on paper.
6. Editing their own work. Because let’s be honest does ANYONE ACTUALLY LIKE DOING THAT.
7. Self-doubt.
8. The fear of being rejected or told their work isn’t “good enough.”
9. Making time to write even when life seems to start spinning out of control.
10. Writing when they’re tired.
11. Writing when they would rather be doing something else.
12. Putting their work out there for everyone to read and criticize as they please.
13. Putting their work out there knowing there are going to be plenty of people who don’t like, agree with, or understand it.
14. Finding the strength to stand back up after failing and try again.
15. Believing that even though they are struggling, they can still write amazing things as long as they take it just one word at a time.
Meg is the creator of Novelty Revisions, dedicated to helping writers put their ideas into words. She is a staff writer with The Cheat Sheet, a freelance editor and writer, and a 10-time NaNoWriMo winner. Follow Meg on Twitter for tweets about writing, food and nerdy things.
Meg Dowell Writes 
I actually *do* like editing my own work — when I know what I want to change, and it’s going smoothly.
So, you know, about 10% of the time.