A-Z Challenge, "D" for Dealing with Doubt

A-Z Challenge here!  My letter for today is "D" for Dealing with Doubt.  And what perfect timing I have since it's the first Wednesday of the month and it so happens to be Insecure Writers Support Group.  *Squeals*  This is a meme I've wanted to join for some time so imagine the luck!

Anyway, I wrote this post about self doubt some time ago.  Since this is something I struggle with, I thought I'd share my latest thoughts.  Here goes nothing.  


Sadly, I question everything I do, especially my writing.  And I mean daily.  I think when you have kids you automatically become more critical, striving to be a good parent.  If you add all the doubting up...its exhausting being me, truly.  Since this blog post is all about releasing our demons, I want to be done with this line of thinking.


I know it's not healthy, but unfortunately the life of a writer is an incredibly arduous one.  And what's worse is writing is so subjective that people can be ruthlessly cruel when criticizing.  My biggest challenge is being mindful of my thoughts.  I've spent the last several months redirecting negative thoughts about my writing and so far that's sort of working.  


People always ask...so how's your writing?  I usually shrug my shoulders and say, "Fine."  Truthfully, I'd like to go on a full rant and really complain, but I don't.  What would be the point.  I'm kinda feel'n like a "Debbie Downer" now and I never want to be that.  No more wallowing.  Thanks for letting me vent.  Whew!  I feel better.  


Anything you want to bi*** about?  Go ahead.  Release the hounds!


Mina B.

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.