I’ve yet to meet an artist or writer who hasn’t, at some
point, been plagued by self-doubt. Moments when you lean back in your chair,
rub your eyes with both hands and wonder, is
this any good? Should I scrap it?
The “it” can be a first draft, a sketch, finished art, an
entire book, a chapter revision—or your whole career. The size of the it varies. The feelings of
fear and frustration do not.
And if you think doubt is the sole domain of the
unpublished or inexperienced, pleasereadmylips: It’s not! Spend some time perusing interviews,
blogs and conference speeches of established writers—agented, award-winning,
published-several-times-over kidlit folk—and you’ll find that some measure of
self-doubt is a common denominator.
In her keynote address to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference in Los Angeles this past summer, Speak author Laurie Halse Anderson
admitted to an audience of 1,200+ people, “Once a month I find myself looking at
classified ads for x-ray technicians.”
Whaa?
You mean the
National-Book-Award-nominated-New-York-Times-best-selling-author-of-nearly-thirty-titles-for-kids-of-all-ages?
That Laurie Halse Anderson?
Yep.
See? At one point or another… doubt comes for us all.
So, what to do, what to do, when self-doubt
comes-a-knockin’? I’m by no means an
expert, but here are a few tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way. Try them and then tell
me if they helped.
1. Read award-winning
books.
It may seem counterintuitive, but I’m a firm
believer that when you spend a little time with the masters of your craft, you
feel inspired. Don’t compare your work to theirs; don’t even think about your
work while doing this. Just be. Just look. Just marvel in the genius and
the beauty of this thing that stirs your soul.
2. Read terrible
books.
It can be equally helpful (and cathartic) to visit the
children’s section of your local bookstore and pick out the duds. The ones
that make you think, “Sweet mother of Abraham Lincoln, I can’t believe somebody
published this!” Read them, giggle smugly at them, and remember your work is better.
3. Combat self-doubt with knowledge.
I used to be afraid of what I didn’t know. Seriously. I’d
avoid going to conferences or attending workshops because I thought I'd find out I was doing it all wrong. I worried that somehow, my being published was an
accident. (Self-doubt, super-sized!) But spending time around other writers and
learning from experts in the industry has been a great help, and an active,
positive way to gain confidence in my writing.
4. Join a critique
group.
(See above.) Plus, there's brunch!
5. Affirm.
When in doubt, try some good old daily affirmations. There are
many out there to choose from (or you might try writing your own) but
if you need some suggestions, try these simple, beautiful affirmations from
Amherst Writers & Artists (#5 is my favorite.)
1. Everyone has a strong, unique voice.
2. Everyone is born with creative genius.
3. Writing as an art form belongs to all people, regardless
of economic class or educational level.
4. The teaching of craft can be done without damage to a
writer's original voice or artistic self-esteem.
5. A writer is someone who writes.
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Today's Crooked Truth is brought to you by Cottager, Anika Denise. This is how she looks when in a full-blown fit of self-doubt:
Eventually, it passes. And she gets back to work. Because a writer is someone who writes.
No doubt about it.
No doubt about it.
I love this post! Even though I am not a writer I often feel like my work just is not up to par. I have a great group of friends who help critique or simply encourage when I am not sure my work is good enough. But in the end, I go and publish that post anyway and often I get the strongest feedback on the posts I doubted myself most with.
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