I had another idea for today's post in mind, and then I saw Lacy's response at the end of Betsy's "Roll Call," so I just had to weigh in...Here's what Lacy asked...
Do you guys as writers struggle with feelings of insecurity like your ideas are absolutely lame, especially when you hear about other's ideas? I don't know what to do about the constant second guessing even though I love to write?
In a word: Absolutely.
Or at least I do, and I'm guessing that a few of my fellow Scribble Chicks have been there, too.
I think anyone who's pursuing the arts inevitably has doubts about his/her work. Sometimes ideas feel a little too out of left field. Or just plain not original enough. I'm guessing even Van Gogh wondered if that was the "right way" to paint a starry night.
But it's the presence of those little voices that either help or hinder our WIPs. I've found that on occasion, those creepy little nagging doubts will press me to be all that much better—to work a little harder to make sure what I'm writing feels just right. But the majority of the time, those lame, distracting little voices do nothing but discourage me. You know, try and convince me that I'm some kind of hack and shouldn't even bother. And when you hear them, all I gotta say is "Don't listen, and keep going for it."
And if that doesn't work, Lacy, here are a few other suggestions to help you fight all that second guessing yourself. These are helpful reminders I bookmarked a while back from Stepcase Lifehack.
Great stuff! Thanks, Christa!
ReplyDeleteHow timely! Just tonight I was doubting some decisions (i.e. college major). Thans.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Christa
ReplyDeleteGreat advice Christa! I have a question I didn't know if one of you chicks would be able to answer. I want to be a novelist. I always here about not starting out with a project too big for our abilities. I've been torn over whether I should just start writing my novel idea orlearn how to write & submit articles first?
ReplyDeleteTonya, my short answer to that is to just start writing. Writing articles is so different from fiction - I've learned that from my Crosswalk articles, my novels, and my journalism for our local newspaper. Unless you want to write articles during your entire career there really isn't a big reason to do that now because the rules for that are different than the rules of fiction. So invest your time in what your ultimate goal is. That's my two cents... =)
ReplyDeleteThe best way to learn is to do. Start writing. You can always go back and revise and edit as you learn more about the craft. But you won't really learn about the craft unless you are writing, reading craft books, attending workshops, submitting your work to be critiqued, etc. You take what you learn and apply it to your own work in progress and keep going.
Sorry, did I say short answer? lol
Thanks Betsy! I think that's a great idea and answer
ReplyDelete