How to Work Through Writing Doubts

[Music] hello hello writers i'm christine kieffer author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources and you are listening to the well-studied podcast where i share insights encouragement and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life always in 30 minutes or less so you can get back to writing of course ready for the show let's get talking [Music] hello again writers and thank you for tuning in to the well-storied podcast today as always i am your host kristen kiefer and today is thursday november 11 2021 rather than sharing an entirely new episode with you today i am instead sharing a newly updated old favorite from the blog and podcast archive called how to work through writing doubts which i originally shared on january 9th 2019. if you would like to read along as you listen in visit www.com doubts now without any further ado let's dive into the episode french author honore de balzac once wrote when you doubt your power you give power to your doubt this quote resonates deeply because it highlights what i've long felt to be a key misunderstanding of the phenomenon of doubt rather than being an obstacle to overcome or an enemy to defeat doubt merely highlights the reality of a choice will i place faith in myself or in my fear neither option is inherently wrong there's a time and a place to heed fear's warning specifically in situations where confidence might bleed into arrogance risking your life savings on a game of chance is probably a good time to heed your doubts for example but what does all of this mean for your writing life how can you work through doubt and place faith in your creative abilities when you've been stuck in a cycle of stagnation for days weeks or even months on end let's begin this conversation by talking about how doubt and desire intertwine we've established that doubt highlights the reality of a choice that choice almost exclusively hinges upon the topic of trust do we truly believe that we are capable are our goals and dreams possible can we really place faith in someone who holds the power to hurt us the matter of trust couldn't exist without desire if we want for nothing then there's nothing to trust nothing that needs our hope and our faith everything we want is either already in our possession or we've given up all hope of ever having it this interplay between doubt and desire is important to highlight because it gives evidence to the fact that doubt is normal and impersonal we don't experience doubt in our writing lives because we're not meant to be writers or because we'll never be good enough we experience doubt because our fragile egos want to protect us from the possibility of disappointment this is an entirely normal response to desire and you have nothing to be ashamed of should doubts arise in your writing life doubt merely highlights a longing for something greater for something better and that's an exciting hope to have nevertheless managing doubt by repeatedly placing faith in your desires and your ability to achieve them can be exhausting that's why the foundational first step to working through writing doubts is to make sure that your doubts hold weight that you aren't worrying over something that you don't actually want in the first place the next time you encounter doubt consider asking yourself some of the following questions why do i want to achieve this goal what value will it bring into my life does this goal align with my personal values and beliefs does this goal align with the vision i have for the life i want to build am i willing to make sacrifices to achieve this goal do i only want to achieve this goal to please others or fulfill a sense of duty would this goal prove detrimental to my physical or emotional well-being would pursuing this goal out of a sense of duty or obligation still align with my values and beliefs you may find it helpful to journal through these questions for added clarity if after answering each of these questions you feel confident that your goal or desire is worth pursuing then it's time to take a deeper look at the doubts that are weighing you down self-doubt as a security check the language we use to describe doubt is frequently combative we're often told to overcome our insecurities banish writer's block and defeat doubt all phrases i've used in my own writing but the more i consider the nature of doubt the more i recognize the many ways in which this language can prove harmful instead of treating self-doubt as an enemy i like to think of it as a security check the very same doubt that kept our ancestors from leaping impossible gaps between cliff faces or attempting to cross swift rivers is the same doubt that asks us to take a step back in our modern world and reevaluate whether we truly want to overhaul our 80 000 word novel to improve its emotional impact in this light doubt is an ally it asks us to acknowledge the risk involved in pursuing a particular goal and to consider whether the reward is worth our while as crazy as it might sound more often than not doubt has your best interests in mind um excuse me you say doubt has kept me from finishing my manuscript for years how in the world can it have my best interests in mind i hear you writer and this is where our analysis of doubt might become a difficult pill to swallow the truth is that doubt isn't holding you back you are every day we make thousands of choices what we eat for breakfast how we speak to our loved ones which hobbies or responsibilities we are willing to temporarily displace to make time for our writing among these decisions are the choices we make in response to doubt remember doubt is merely a question of uncertainty a question of trust are you willing to assume the risk involved in pursuing this path for the possibility of reaping its reward that's it that's doubt are you willing to take a risk or does this path pose dangers to grave to entertain this is the decision you make every time doubt arises as difficult as it might be to hear the reason you've become creatively stagnant isn't because doubt exists in your writing life it's because you weighed your fear of the risks involved in a particular writing goal and found that they outweighed your desire to achieve it on a side note here for some writers mental illness or neurodivergent operating can play a key role in creative stagnation if you're one such writer then please take only what serves you from this episode in some cases deferring to risk over potential reward can be a good thing for example you might choose to forgo a new commercially viable project because the risk to your creative fulfillment is too great instead you might choose to work on a more aligned project however more often than not the decision to favor fear over potential reward isn't rational in the face of risk we spook unconsciously we begin to rationalize fear to protect ourselves from the feelings of shame and inadequacy we might face should we take a risk and fail i don't have time to write we say while creating busy work to avoid difficult creative projects writing would take time away from my kids we say instead of acknowledging that it's healthy for children to see their parents pursuing creative endeavors i'm not good enough to write that story we say to avoid digging deep into the art and craft of writing fiction no one's going to read this anyway we say when learning to self-publish and market our work feels overwhelming i must be a terrible writer to receive this many rejections we say instead of re-evaluating our manuscript and query letter and trying again the unfortunate truth is that it's easy to live in fear we might never find true joy and fulfillment when we live in fear but at least we don't have to face the immense pain of trying and failing at least we don't have to put forth a wealth of time and effort that might prove wasted right this reaction to risk is perfectly normal there's a sense of safety in staying small in never having to face the possibility of loss but in reality we lose so much when we choose fear over faith when we mistrust ourselves and our desires the good news is that in recognizing our fear we give ourselves the opportunity to brave it cultivating confidence in the face of fear confidence might seem as though it comes easily to some people and there certainly may be factors that allow some to build confidence more quickly than others nevertheless confidence is a trait that must be built brick by brick and choice by choice in essence confidence is an attitude of intentional bravery its faith in one's ability to both achieve a particular reward and survive risk should all go wrong confidence is often framed as positive thinking fake it till you make it and there is some power in this approach but more powerful than simply saying i can do this is the choice to reframe risk as an opportunity in and of itself competence says i am willing to risk disappointing feedback because i know that constructive criticism is key to improving my work confidence says i am willing to risk losing money on my self-published book because i value producing a professional finished work confidence says i am willing to risk lackluster words because i understand that like learning an instrument or running a marathon quality writing skills are developed with practice and persistence this is how you cultivate confidence in the face of fear how you choose to pursue your creative goals and dreams no matter how frightening or far off they might seem not by striving to never doubt again but by choosing to brave your fears regardless of risk remember bravery is the decision to act in the face of danger it's a choice made in full recognition of the value of reward and in the knowledge that even should you fail to achieve your goal the effort will have been worth your while as you strive to cultivate confidence by writing bravely here are a few key tips to bear in mind tip number one view failure as an opportunity for growth sometimes you will fail to reap the reward you seek and it's easy to view this failure as a personal shortcoming it's not failure is an everyday reality for those who choose to move through life with an attitude of bravery you simply cannot win every battle no matter how hard you try rather than taking failure personally see it for what it is a chance to learn re-evaluate and grow a chance to try again with more experience under your belt or to harness what you've learned in pursuit of a new goal tip number two measure your successes and lessons learned it's often easier to feel disappointed in where we are than to celebrate how far we've come unfortunately disappointment can pave the way for a nasty bout with fear a bout that could be avoided altogether by tracking your progress and celebrating small successes in your writing life you can cultivate an attitude of pride and accomplishment that will help you circumvent fear in favor of powerful self-assurance tip number three choose your attitude emotions come and go they can be channeled pent up pushed down or released but their presence isn't much of a choice what we can choose is how we respond to their presence this is attitude attitude is the way we choose to walk through the world and engage in our lives regardless of circumstance or feeling we can choose to be grateful in the face of difficulty to bravely face our fears and to resiliently weather the disappointments we'll inevitably experience in our writing lives make the choice writer choose your attitude and finally tip number four seek strength in numbers you've chosen to cultivate an attitude of bravery which is a phenomenal step to take in your writing life but this work isn't easy while you can successfully face your fears alone there's strength to be found in numbers for this reason among many others i encourage you to get involved in the writing community you can absolutely find support from friends and family members who aren't writers themselves but there's nothing like the in the no encouragement and commiseration with fellow writers consider getting involved in online writing communities on social media joining an in-person writing group or investing in a premium community such as the tenacious writers society run by emily golden and rachel may of golden may editing if there's anything you take away from today's episode then i hope it's the understanding that the doubts you experience in your writing life shouldn't be a source of shame no one creates without questioning their art as well as their ability to bring it to life the writers who find the greatest success in their craft are those who choose to bravely commit to their art despite fear and uncertainty this is a choice that anyone can make yourself included so what do you say writer are you willing to brave the risks involved in writing in pursuit of the incredible joy and fulfillment to be found in creating work you love [Music] thank you for listening to today's episode of the podcast writer i hope you found it helpful to your writing journey if so make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode and to give the podcast a quick rating or review doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers and lets me know that you're enjoying what i'm creating you can also give me a shout out directly on instagram at kristin underscore kiefer for additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life be sure to head on over to www.welldashstoried where i share blog posts workbooks e-courses and other helpful resources for writers again that's w-e-l-l-s-t-o-r-i-e-d dot com thank you again for tuning into today's episode my friend until next time happy writing