by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Confidence is incredibly important for writing, but it’s hard to come by.
There have been plenty of times when I’ve wanted to just throw a manuscript in the trashcan when I had a crisis of confidence in it—or in my ability to tell the story. One of the last times was for the book that launched November 1. I got 1/3 of the way through it and seriously considered starting over with a new concept.
There are so many times when we rely on confidence in this business. We have to:
Believe in ourselves enough to finish the draft. Believe enough to spend the time to edit the crappy draft we’ve finished.
Be self-confident enough to have the courage to reach out to others for feedback.
Believe enough in our writing to spend hours researching agents and publishers or, alternately, epublishing options, formatting, and cover design.
Believe enough in our story that we aren’t defensive about it if we get negative reviews.
Of course, there’s hubris too, and that’s not helpful. We’ve got to listen to folks who are trying to help us improve our manuscript or future manuscripts. But it’s also true that it’s important to listen to our gut and carefully weigh the advice we get from others.
It’s the confidence that gets us through the whole process. Or maybe…it’s stubbornness. I’m not sure. :)
How do you talk yourself off the ledge when you’re writing?
Through the generosity of Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi at The Bookshelf Muse, I’m giving away one of their insightful 1000 word critiques. Just send an email to me at elizabethspanncraig (at)gmail (dot) com with “contest” in the subject to enter. Entries accepted through November 21. The randomly-chosen winner will be announced here November 22. Thanks, Angela and Becca!
Elizabeth – That’s the thing about writing. One puts oneself “out there” and that does require a lot of confidence. And by the way, your confidence in your story was well-place. Hickory Smoked Homicide is terrific :-). So how do I talk myself off the proverbial ledge? I re-read a passage I was really proud of (i.e. “See? You can do it!”). And Paul’s right; music – the right music – is a real help, too.
Music, self talk, old movies are ways I bring myself off the ledge and back to the keyboard.
Teresa
I am sure it must boost a writer´s confidence to see that “Progressive Dinner Deadly” is # 1 among Amazon´s cosy mysteries :)
At least I felt quite pleased yesterday when I realized mine was # 55 on that list.
And every time a reviewer takes me seriously by writing a review of one of my books, that helps immensely – even though I snort loudly when they complain that a free short story was ´too short´ ;)
This is a hard subject for me, because I’ve suffered from low self-esteem most of my life. Now, I am comfortable inside my own skin and like who I am. But when it comes to my writing, I don’t have as much confidence as I would like. Great post, Elizabeth.
Karen
I have a selection of songs I listen to when I need a pick-me-up. Once I’m all fired up I switch to tracks suited to what I’m currently writing and make myself get back to work.
When I’m writing, I’m usually on top of things. Then I send it to my crit partners, and get a dose of reality, and wonder what the heck I was thinking when I thought I could write. But when I need a boost, I can look at my bookshelves and see that others had enough confidence in me to publish my books–or I look at my Twitter profile page and see the array of covers.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
It’s a balancing act.
This is so true. I’m going to tweet it.
Confidence is one thing that’s so hard for me. We want constant encouragement but it’s hard to find. We need to find the confidence from within ourselves.
There truly is such a difference between hubris and confidence.
When it get tough I always try to remind myself to love the story.
~ Wendy
I do okay with confidence up until the point it’s time to share, then suddenly I wonder if I am delusional. i think that is why starting with fan fiction was helpful–it was an environment where people were almost universally supportive. I also have some trouble balancing feedback against gut, but if I have time to step back and think about it, I can usually come up with something that addresses concerns without giving up my vision.
believe it or not, hubs is really good with this. He’s a voracious reader, but as an old English major (like me), he’s able to give me good feedback on my MSs.
And talk me off the ledge. :D <3
Oh wow so true! Writers either have high confidence levels or egos, not sure which, to think we can do this! My confidence is always pretty high until release date, then I get way depressed and think no one will like my book with the ones who got free ARCs being the only readers or reviewers. Once that thing is published, my confidence just plummets into nothing.
Paul–Sounds like a great idea to me!
Margot–Maybe we should make a page of our favorite scenes or paragraphs and hang them up on our wall. Honestly, I could see that helping.
Journaling Woman–I like those ideas. :)
Diane–For sure!
Clarissa–It’s tough. And when I become confident, I have to really fight to maintain it. Writers are moody, I guess.
Wendy–Refocusing on the storytelling…that’s a great solution.
Dorte–Is it? Wow. I didn’t know that…thanks! Yes, that does help. :) At least, for today!
I’m pleased to share the list with you! Cool!
The short story problem is one I’ve heard about from quite a few writers. I’m wondering if that problem goes away if you publish with Kindle Shorts?
Hart–Interesting perspective! I hadn’t thought about fan fiction that way, but it sounds right on the money. You’ve got all that support, encouragement, and excited readers. Then we have to convince readers to like our original fiction from scratch.
Karen–Hope it helps to know that we’re all in the same boat!
LTM–A supportive spouse! That’s always very helpful. Good point.
Terry–Good point! Yes, we should look at the fact that we’ve done it. If we’ve done it before, we can do it again. And if it’s a first book, we can say with confidence that our book is better than others on the shelves.
Karen–Oh, gosh, that could be a whole other post for me. I’m never excited about book releases…I dread them. And this is a bad thing, since I have at least 2 a year! I’ve had 3 so far in 2011, and each one made me feel very ill.
Confidence – if you have too much, you’re sunk, not enough you’re sunk so I agree with what one of your commentators said: balance. As a yet to be published, I find I suffer from lack of confidence but listening to your post, obviously it isn’t something that disappears after successful publication. So, I guess the important thing is not to play head games and try to get a readers who is open and not afraid to express a truthful opinion. But then, I can’t say I’m speaking from experience.
I guess I just plow through without thinking too much. Easy for me to do sometimes!
If you have trouble with confidence, then forget any worries about hubris.
You do yourself much more harm in not taking a risk than you do when you ignore wise advice.
Until you’ve actually made the mistake, you can’t benefit from advice. So get out there and make mistakes. Do it on purpose.
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There are two sides of my inner writer. One that is incredibly cocky and confident, and the other that hates everything I write and thinks it’s never good enough.
I only succeed when I can get the two to get along. This post deserves a retweet! (Sorry for the edit…)
Like Margot, I reread a scene I’m proud of. Or I take a ride in the car with one of my characters sitting next to me and let them talk. Listening to and enjoying what they reveal, sharing a look down the road they are following, makes me feel confident and as though I, too, am on the right track.
H. L. Banks–I think you’re right. And the first readers need to know what we’re asking of them, too–constructive criticism, basic proofreading, etc.
Alex–That’s a good thing!
Carol–Thanks so much!
The Daring Novelist–I may have *moments* of hubris before reality quickly quashes it. :) You’re so right about taking risks–it’s almost always worth it.
Toby–Spending a day with our character is the best kind of day, isn’t it?
I jump off the ledge, knowing I have my trusty wormhole that lets me off safely right at the spot I jumped.
Confidence is the best friend and worst enemy if you lack it.
I think I try and remind myself that I went through the same process previously and it turned out ok.
Stubbornness indeed.
Rich