In Writing--Faith Over Fear

 

 

Writers make mistakes as they move along their writing journey. None of us are totally immune to doing something we wished we hadn't in our writing life. 

Sometimes we hurry the process, and it shows. We don't present our best work when we move too quickly. Maybe we toss something in we think is correct but hadn't taken time to do a little checking or research. We could get called on it by a reader. We might grab a title quickly out of the air only to think of a much better one when it's too late. 

These are only a few of the mistakes we make. The more often that an error comes up, the more we fear moving on, or even trying to do so. This is when we need to give ourselves a pep talk. It's when we need to encourage faith in our own abilities. We need to put faith over fear. 

One of the best ways I know to increase your faith in yourself and decrease your fears in your writing life is to make two lists. List A should be made of all the things you fear about writing. In List B, show the pluses in your writing life, the good things that have happened, and what you feel are your strengths as a writer. On which list should you concentrate? That's a no-brainer question. 

We need to pump up our own confidence level and we should do it on a daily basis. Maybe then, we can start believing in ourselves. If you dwell daily on your mistakes and your fears about writing, what do you think will happen? Yes, you'll start convincing yourself that you cannot write well, that all you do is flub up. 

Learn to have faith in yourself. If you don't have it, no one else will have faith in you either. Editors and readers figure it out fairly easily when you write without confidence in what you can produce.

Let's go back to those lists. I said to concentrate on List B, but you might also want to go through the first list and address those fears, one by one. Ask yourself if the fear is justified or are you responsible for creating your own fear? If the fear is justified, what can you do about it? How can you change whatever that fear happens to be? 

Work at having faith over fear, and you'll be both a happier writer and a better one. 

Building Confidence As A Writer

Yesterday, I wrote about the different jobs we have as writers. Thinking about that as I made our bed this morning, it came to me that, we have multiple tasks as writers, but we also have some needs. One of the biggest, in my opinion, is confidence. 

It's said glibly at times, but we all know you don't run down to your local Walmart and buy a jug of confidence. It's something each writer must acquire on his/her own. It doesn't come in one fell swoop either. We have to build confidence. As children, we used nursery-type blocks to build a tower. A toddler's chubby hand picks up one block at a time, places it on the little tower on the floor. The child learns that he/she must use care in putting the block on the others. If not, it comes tumbling down. 

That's how we gain our confidence, one little block at a time placed carefully upon the others. How do we acquire this wonderful trait? 

First, you need to have a positive attitude. If we write a story and then tear it down in our own mind, it's merely deflating. Write a story or essay or poem and give it a good look. Pick out the parts you like best. You might find yourself smiling or nodding your head when you see those delightful sections. They make you feel good, as if you've accomplished something. Do this with every new writing project and you'll soon see that you have something to be proud of. Attitude is a key part of building confidence.

Many writers keep a log of what they have written. To help raise your confidence level, you note something positive about what you wrote. Maybe that it sold on the first submission, or that your critique group had lots of good things to say. With each positive remark, you will feel a bit more confident in your ability to write.

Ever give yourself a lecture quietly and mentally? I have done this many times. If you're in a funk, dragging yourself down instead of building yourself up, give yourself a quiet lecture. I have also, on occasion, termed them 'verbal spankings.' Don't put yourself down. Remind yourself that to be successful, you need to give a boost instead. You can end with Shape up! 

Dwell on your successes, not your rejections. Most of us probably are heavier on the rejection side, but that's no reason to spend all your effort worrying about them. Assess those pieces you've written that you consider successes in some way. Figure out why they are in that list. What did you do when writing these pieces. Don't be shy about finding the good parts and being elated. Those good parts are the kind of things you'll want to repeat. 

As stated above, building your personal confidence is an ongoing process. I found that the more I wrote, the greater my confidence. As time progressed, I trusted myself more and I began to believe in myself as a writer. Like the bird in today's poster, I put my trust in myself. You can, too.