Shadows of Doubt

I found this quote the other day that’s been haunting me since I read it.  It’s from Gilbert K. Chesterton and depicts precisely how I feel about being a writer.

“A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.”

As a innate marketer, I fundamentally believe that if you create a great product, then  you've given yourself the best possible chance at success.  For me, this is especially true when crafting a novel. And because creating and refining one's writing can be endless, it leaves room for colossal doubt.  At least, it does for me.

Doubt stalks me like it does most writers I suspect.  I guess one could say when you question your writing and have shadows of doubt; you’re stretching yourself to be the best.  That’s not a bad thing, is it?  I once read that bestselling author, Dean Koontz, in the beginning of his career, deliberated over every word, striving to form the perfect sentence, paragraph and ultimately the perfect novel.  He’s one of my favorite authors so you can imagine how surprised I was when I read that.  This somewhat proves my point about Chesterton’s quote and my concern about self-doubt.

The Huffington Post featured a piece from Ann Patchett about on how to avoid doubt which I found extremely helpful.  In her post, she suggests splitting the writer and the critic into two sectors. Basically, write first and judge later.  She’s absolutely correct about that.  I’ll take it a step further and say, “staying focused” is another essential factor.

But what I’m interested in is how do you deal with self-doubt?  Is it something that will forever cling to our subconscious?  Does it ever relent?

And was Stuart Smalley actually onto something when he coined this phrase?  

I'm good enough


Mina B.