Witing with Faith, Trust, and Pixie Dust

 

Our poster today says you need faith, trust, and pixie dust. I'm not sure where one goes to purchase a bucket of pixie dust, but I do know about faith and trust a writer should have.

Faith:  As a writer, you need to develop faith in your abilities. An "I can do this!" attitude will take you a long way in this writing world. Maybe writers need to be a little egotistic in their thinking. Instead of giving yourself all the reasons you are going to fail at being a writer, turn it around, and list the positives. Head your list:  Reasons why I will be a successful writer. Can't think of any? I don't believe it. Give it some deep thought. It's a pat yourself on the back kind of list, and there is no shame in doing so. 

If you have certain attributes to help you write well, put them on the list, one at a time. This list is for you, not to be shown to others when completed. 

Trust:  Do you trust yourself to follow the rules of writing, to acquire the tools a writer needs, to have the courage to submit your finished work? Do you feel assured that you can write a story, essay, memoir, poem, or article that would be worthy of publication? Do you carry the conviction that you can be a successful writer? If you're wibbly-wobbly on any one of these, it's time to work on changing. 

You need to trust your abilities before you can convince an editor that he/she should publish your work. When you submit to a publication, tell the editor why you think your story would be a perfect fit for them. Give your writing background to help an editor have a little trust in your ability. If you have never had any work published, there is no need to state that. When writing to an editor, always be positive. If you trust your writing ability, this should not be a problem. 

Trust and faith seem to go hand in hand. If you have one, you most likely have the other. Keeping a positive attitude will aid in ensuring that you have both trust and faith in your writing ability. 

Should you ever put yourself down? No is the best answer, but we also know that there are times when things don't go right that we do manage to lose that trust and faith. Maybe not lose it, but it becomes a little shaky. Try to work through the problem and climb back on the faith and trust ladder again. Feeling down about your writing does not need to be a life sentence. 

As for the pixie dust, I would love to find some to sprinkle over each submission. If you know where to get pixie dust, please share with me and my readers.