The Writer’s Bane

Can anyone torture a writer like their own selves? Oh, I know, editors come close, but when it comes to self-flagellation, writers are number one on the list. When it comes to doubting your work, talent, or ability, writers can flog themselves like few other artists.

Is it any good? Will anyone want to read it? Does this suck? It sucks, doesn’t it? Why am I writing it? Am I any good? Will I ever get any better? Does it make sense? It doesn’t make any sense, does it? I suck and you’re not telling me. What am I doing wrong? What made me think I could write, anyway? It’s a stupid story. It’s stupid, isn’t it? Why am I writing??

And on and on. The hamsters of self-doubt will eat your brain every spare chance you give them. While it is normal, and even healthy to question the process, if you give those furry little fuckahs too much room they’ll destroy every brain cell and nibble at your pile of self confidence until there’s nothing but rubble left. It might be time to put out the vermin poison.

Is it any good? It’s true it’s difficult, if not impossible, to judge your own work. You might think it’s Pulitzer Prize material, or fit for nothing but the bottom of a bird cage. Here you have a couple of options.

Solicit feedback from an unbiased source. This might mean workshopping your piece, or it could mean finding an opinion from someone whose eye you trust, but isn’t vested in the work or their relationship with you. Although comments from friends, fans, or family might be positive and definitely something to take into consideration, what you’re looking for are fresh eyes, someone who will give you an honest appraisal of the story.

Just walk away. Put that sucker in the trunk, and leave it. Let it marinate in its own juices for a couple of days, a week, a month. Mark your calendar for a future date, when you will then take it out and look at it with your own fresh eyes. You’ll be amazed at how different it looks to you, and it could be you’ll read it and say to yourself, “Self? That’s pretty damned good!” Or, even better and in addition, you’ll see where you can make the story tighter, more dynamic.

Will I ever get better? Not if you sit around and whine about how difficult it is, how bad you suck, or wail about why you even decided to try this in the first place. You won’t get better unless you do one, vital thing – WRITE. Write, write, write! Write daily. Every single day, even if it’s nothing more than a personal blog post for your eyes only. You call yourself a writer, then goddammit, WRITE. Don’t mope around like a tortured artist, WRITE. Quit fucking around.

And don’t even start with the writer’s block bullshit, okay? Yes, sometimes it’s harder than hell to get started, but sitting there looking at the blank page isn’t helping you, partner. Put something on it. There are plenty of prompts everywhere, and if that doesn’t get your keyboard humming, go through the notes in the notebook you carry with you everywhere. (What, no notebook?? I told you to get a notebook!) And if THAT doesn’t float your boat, just open a page and let it rip. Stream of consciousness. Write whatever comes into your head, no matter how banal or stupid it sounds to you. It’s practice. Sometimes, really cool things can come out of it.

All right, you’re stuck and you can’t write. Then READ. Read, read, read. Read in your chosen genre, read outside your chosen genre. Read the authors you admire, and read the ones you think suck. Read and take note of what works, what doesn’t, and what appeals to you. Read books, blogs, articles, the back of cereal boxes. Read voraciously.

Why am I writing?? Good question, and one that only you can answer. There is no right or wrong, but it helps you focus on what you’re doing if you can find that answer. Do you write because you’re gunning for fame and fortune? Or is it because you can’t help yourself? You might feel as if you have a story that can affect others, a story only you can tell. Maybe voices speak to you and are insisting you tell their story. Perhaps you’re an attention whore and are in it for the accolades and pats on the back. Nothing wrong with that, but being familiar with your motivations and goals helps you focus your efforts. Be honest with yourself. Is it just a hobby for you, or do you have a fire in the belly?

Stop the self-doubt. There will be more than enough people to pull you down; you don’t need to help them. Believe in yourself. It’s normal and healthy to ask yourself all these questions, but if you consider yourself a writer, believe it. Believe in the process. Never stop striving to improve, to learn, to grow. Cultivate a consistent work ethic. Read about successful writers, be it books or blogs. Most of all, feed that fire in the belly, and WRITE.

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self. ~ Cyril Connolly

Writing is easy:  All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. ~Gene Fowler

Every writer I know has trouble writing. ~Joseph Heller

If I don’t write to empty my mind, I go mad. ~Lord Byron

You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you.  And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke. ~Arthur Polotnik

The coroner will find ink in my veins and blood on my typewriter keys. ~C. Astrid Weber

It is impossible to discourage the real writers – they don’t give a damn what you say, they’re going to write. ~Sinclair Lewis

The artist’s only responsibility is his art.  He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one…. If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate:  The “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is worth any number of old ladies. ~Faulkner, quoted in M. Cowley, Writers at Work, 1958

A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. ~Thomas Mann, Essays of Three Decades, 1947

Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. ~Rainer Maria Rilke

Quotes courtesy of Quote Garden.