Writers--Believe in Yourself

This poster made me think of my writer friend who subbed one personal essay seventeen times before it was published. I wrote about her a couple days ago. If you missed that post, read it here.

I emailed her after the post was published and she was pleased that I'd used her experience as a blog post. She said that I had gotten it right, that the reason she persevered for so long and subbed so many times was that she believed in what she'd written. Undoubtedly, she had faith in herself as a writer and in the essay she'd worked on for so long.

I'd label her a strong, determined woman. Were you to meet her in person, you might not realize the inner strength she has. Outwardly, she is small, and kind, and a lovely person. Inside, there is steel and I learned that through her long submission process and the fact that she never gave up. I have liked her a lot but now, I also admire her greatly.

Will you try subbing a rejected piece again? You will if you are convinced it is a good piece of writing and if you 'believe in yourself' as a writer. No one can make you believe in yourself. Each of us has to do that on our own. We're a committee of one when it comes to that/

One way to come to believing in yourself as a writer is to continually consider your successes. If you were published once or a hundred times, doesn't that say something about your worth as a writer? Sure it does.

When you finish a writing project and you feel satisfied with the end result, shouldn't you think you're a worthwhile writer?

Too often, we tend to tear ourself down instead of building ourself up. How about that old song, words and music by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer that gives us all good advice. The refrain goes:
   Accentuate the positive,
   eliminate the negative,
   and latch on to the affirmative
   and don't mess with Mr. In-between

Good advice to help us believe in ourself as a writer. Try it!

A Great Quote For Writers

Nice words by Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt in today's poster. Roosevelt must have truly believed his own words as he accomplished a great deal in his political career and as head of a large family. Read this one-page bio to learn more about our 26th president. Candice Millard's excellent book, The River of Doubt, gives readers a look at another side of Teddy as he and a party of men explore the Amazon River. Read about it here. Once again, you'll see the man who spoke the words above and why he believed in himself.

What if every writer who started a new project wrote while muttering words like This is never gonna fly! Who in the world would read this? I'm not a good writer. and more. But, if the writer continues to tap our words on his/her keyboard, he/she must have some faith or they wouldn't continue to write. So, then we have a writer who believes a little bit but not all the way. Doubt becomes a daily companion. Quit beating yourself up day after day. Resolve to think nothing negative about your writing for one full week. Then a month and keep going.

Even if you don't believe in yourself wholeheartedly, you'll give it a try if you have the passion to write. There has to be something to drive you on even when you don't fully believe that you can be a success, that your story will be published someday. With each bit of success, your belief in yourself will increase. It might not soar to the top of the flagpole but will climb inch by inch. 

Like all things in our writing journey, we move a step at a time, never flying from bottom step to the top in the blink of an eye. Ponder on where you were as a writer five, ten or twenty years ago compared to your position in writing today. Hopefully, you are looking at growth. You did something, didn't you? You are a better writer today than way back in the early days. That  should help you believe in yourself.

How many times have we all seen self-confidence articles that use The Little Engine That Could as an example? So often that there has to be some merit to the comparison. If you're not going to give up, then you must believe in yourself. And, if you do believe in yourself, you will be halfway to your goal just like Teddy Roosevelt said.