Writing, like any art, is a reflection of life and comes with enormous amounts of worry and doubt. The writing process can feel questionable in the first draft. Later edits either start with dread or finish with obsessive thoughts that somewhere left behind is a silly typo a snot-nosed second grader could catch. The demons of self-doubt love to feed on writing anxiety.
“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real, too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”--Stephen King
Learning to accept feedback and criticism as a writer is paramount to your success. It's no joke that authors warn writers to get a "thick skin." The fact is, you learn by making mistakes in writing the same we do in life. There's no shame. Forgive yourself, learn, and move on. Don't let the fear of negative response keep you from doing what moves your soul.
Once published and on your way to feeling comfortable calling yourself an author, the voices don't go away. In fact, there will always be at least two voices in your head. Never allow yourself to fall for the one that whispers you can't, you won't, and you aren't enough. Some writers find success step by step, book after book, and to be honest, year after year. Others, a smaller minority, have a little more luck. Whether they know somebody or are just natural born entrepreneurs, after a great deal of hard work, life seems be little more than about karma, luck, and good old fashioned prayer and faith!
I don't know what it's like to be a New York best selling author with anxiety ...yet (she types with positivity), but I have no doubt it's still there for those who have reached the pinnacle. Even master storyteller Stephen King said, “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” Be like Steve. Don't let the monsters get you down.
When I look back to the year 1998, the moment I decided that I was going to be an author no matter what it took, the memories are full of anxious moments. What a journey of excitement, small successes, disappointments, and even raging tears. It took me about ten years to see my first book in print. That was ten years ago. Today, I look at my backlist of 9 books with 3 on the way for 2018, and I have to give myself a pat on the worn, anxious back and sit up a little straighter. I write, I publish, and every now and then I see a nice royalty check. Huzzah!
Writers are the Dorys of the Publishing Ocean. We have to keep swimming and swimming and swimming, and not look back. Anxiety is a part of life. It's become quite the trendy condition, but for those of us who write, whether we struggle with clinical cases of the impairment or just deal with it every now and then, anxiety is nothing more than a villain in our head. And as everybody knows, the good guy always wins in the end.
Stay balanced,
~Danielle Thorne~
www.daniellethorne.com
No comments:
Post a Comment