Get Rid of Doubt About Your Writing Once and For All
Do you have doubts about your writing? Do you feel that everything you write is just not worth the effort? Just know you are not alone. Most writers come up against their own inner critic. We become completely paralyzed with fear of our work and what people may say. Perhaps no one will like it, or no publishing house would want to pick it up. This post is to let you know that we all feel that way and to take the positives and run with them.
The Journey
As I have stated in my about page, I have been writing since I was 13 years old. Most of the writing was when I was in high school and it was due to being bullied rather badly throughout my school career. The bulk were poems where I was able to get out some feelings that were otherwise being bottled up. It allowed me a way of expressing myself in a creative way and not being destructive with these emotions.
When I started to write in earnest, I used my vast imaginary world I created to escape the reality I hated and placed pen to paper. I loved my English classes and took it upon myself to add titles and quotes to all my papers I wrote. Whether the teachers thought it was necessary or enjoyed it, I am not sure. However, I was able to use this newfound capability of mine to advance in those classes. Senior year I was able to elect three classes, one of which was a creative writing class. Although the teacher was not receptive to new and unusual ideas and not as “creative” as I would have liked, it gave me even more of an outlet to let myself take off.
Over the years I have accumulated notebooks, loose paper, journals and digital documents worth of content. But I remained timid about my work and that it was just not good enough to be published or even grace the eyes of an editor. I kept my “stories” hidden away, as if it was something I was ashamed of and didn’t want people to see. Over time it became less of shame and more of just feeling they were not good enough.
I started to break through my shell once I returned to college. I was in a sense forced to show my work, forced to edit and forced to finish. Not to mention that I had to show my work to not only the teacher but being peer reviewed. I am not going to lie, this scared me severely and my anxiety hit the roof. But this was only the first few steps that broke that wall I built for myself.
Breaking Through
The biggest breakthrough for me, was when I met a published author and agent. I had decided to go to the Wizard World Comic Con at the Philadelphia Convention Center two years ago. Now for anyone who has not gone to one of these, it is not all comic books and the like. There are vendors from clothing, genre related gear and a ton of writers. While walking down the aisles of books with the authors peddling their wares, I stopped at a table that had a book called “Drawn” by Marie Lamba. I read the synopsis and was instantly intrigued.
Photo by Jilbert Ebrahimi on Unsplash
After having a long talk with Marie Lamba, I found out she was also an agent, had a group local to the area of aspiring writers and was giving a talk later that evening. She asked me about my work, I was hesitant to reply with “I am a writer” as well. So, I stumbled and said I have written some various pieces but can’t really say I am a writer. She said, “Stop right there. You write. You said you have content to pull from, therefore you are a writer.” Those words ring with me even today.
The Moral
We, as writers, need to know what we have is worth the effort. We can do it and finish the work we have started. Never allow doubt to prey upon your courage and in turn never allowing you to release your work. If we never try, we will never know. We write; therefore, we are writers! I invite you to subscribe to my blog to see updates as they come. If you have a story to share of your own about inspiration regarding writing, please share in the comments. Thank you for visiting!
4 comments
I loved your section “the journey” so much! I know for me personally whenever I need to get something out of my head I go and write to get my frustration out. Writing brings me into a whole new world where my imagination and creativity are endless. Good post!!
The imagination is definitely a great way to help get through a lot of things. It has been my constant companion through life. Thank you for commenting!
The “Moral” section was very informative and really resonated with me. It is important for writers to be confident and pursue their dream. I love the quote “if we never write, we will never know”. This inspire writers to put their thoughts on paper and embrace their style.
It is important for writers to know that all they need to do is write. Hopefully these words will reach more people that need to hear it. Thank you for your comment!