But when the self-doubt hit, it hit hard. Is there really some purpose God has for me in writing? Will it be of any eternal benefit to me or anyone else? Am I good enough? I’m I fooling myself? Are my stories predictable and boring? On and on it went, as I unburdened my heart to a friend, yet she promptly understood and prayed with me.
Then this morning, in the wee hours, I came across this blog post from agent-turned-writer Nathan Bransford on separating confidence from self-doubt.
I’m so thankful for praying friends. I’m also thankful for other writers who take the time to blog about the challenges of the writing life. If you’re struggling with self-doubt when it comes to writing, go read Nathan’s post. Even if you aren’t, you likely will at some point, to some degree, so go read Nathan’s post.
And as my friend prayed for me, I pray for you, fellow writer, or mom, wife, minister, father, husband, friend, that our work would never be in vain, but guided by Him to be part of His work, whether in word (written or spoken) or deed. Amen
Amen! Thanks for this post. 🙂
Now there is a lot of wisdom. Lori, you are in good company. I struggled with that myself this week, and last… It was good to hear how we can turn our self-doubt into a tool and use our confidence in a humble way – both to help improve our writing. You are very gifted, Lori. If you ever forget that come back and read this comment and I'll remind you! 🙂
According to this hilarious video, I'm simply suffering from Stage 3 of the Novel Writing Process.
http://youtu.be/aly7bSv6xUs
Why do I forget this "reality" phase is a normal part of the process, and that it's GOOD for me to have all these questions and concerns so I examine my novel and up the stakes and the tension and do all those things that help to make it a better story? It's hard to take an honest look at a story's weaknesses and think through how to strengthen them–and for me, during the first draft, it's somewhat counterproductive unless I KNOW for a certainty what needs to be changed. It's easy for me to panic, especially in the long middle slog, when I can sense the weaknesses lurking, but I don't yet see how, or even if, I need to fix them NOW. The wise mama side of my brain is telling the panicky child side, "Keep going. All will be made clear. Have faith."
Carla, thank you!