Well this site has mostly been a year of dramatisations of my previous works so far (one more of them to come in December) therefore I suppose it’s also fair to say that I’ve sort-changed you with, you know, actual written content. So let’s address that in this month’s little post, and talk about the one thing that pretty much every writer has experience of, even if you’re fairly new to this game: Self-doubt.
I get so many messages about this, and for some reason I’ve had more on this topic this year than anything else. I’m so sorry that I can’t read through all of these message or respond directly, but I thought I’d address a couple of these points here.
One of the biggest points appears to come from the idea that at the start, you declare to the world (and of course, yourself) that’s you’re a writer. And that somehow that’s half of the battle. But then when you’re in the grind of pushing the work out, you can’t get it over the line. The words don’t come, and real life gets in the way of you finishing what you’re trying to do.
This is a problem I’ve talked about before. My advice to anyone getting started is NOT to declare to the world that you’re a writer. “I’ve decided to write a book” is a dangerous thing to declare if that’s all that you’ve done. You don’t want people badgering you about it. Better to make it a private thing that you’re doing for yourself. I’ve found that helps me get on with it much more. The more you declare you’re gong to write a book without, you know, writing it, the harder it becomes. And when it’s not done quickly, you can start to feel like a failure. And your heart will sink every time someone (quite innocently) asks you how it’s going.
Here’s my simple trick. When the pieces of the puzzle for a new story are finally in place in my mind, I tell MYSELF that I’m writing a new book. If anyone else asks what I’m working on, I say something like “Oh, I have some ideas, but nothing concrete yet.”
But let me tell you a little secret: I’ve been saying that for years. Even when I’m just a couple-thousand words away from finishing the first draft on a book, I say that. Once the first draft has been completed, a lot of the things to deal with are technical and artistic, not about the intimidating idea of getting a hundred-thousand words down, so I’m happy to talk about it. And of course, if you have an editor, talk about it you must. But until draft one is finished, I don’t tell anyone I’m writing a book. I know, it sounds silly. But trust me, it’s a huge productivity boon.
The other area of self-doubt some of you seem to be dealing with, (thanks again for your messages and tweets), is when you’re well into a story and your own negative voice is growing. This is a little like what people call “writer’s block”. If you’ve read many of my previous posts on not really believing in writer’s block, you’ll know my view on this. Thanks for those who have taken the time to write me a kind note about how that attitude has helped you. What’s happening is that you just start listening to that critical part of your brain telling you that you’re not good enough. That part of the brain is the guy who wants to tell you that you’re not good enough. But you know what? Screw that guy.
Seriously, just ignore that voice. Keep writing even as that voice gets louder and louder and more critical. Because once you’ve finished your scene/chapter/whatever, and come back to it a day or so later, you will be surprised how decent some of the stuff you wrote actually was.
So don’t fret about self-doubt. Every writer gets it. The only measure is your ability to ignore it and power through anyway. Do that, and you’ll finish this book. You’ve got this. Screw that guy.
Andy Jones Online 