I read recently how a lot of writers simply don’t write because they fear they’re not any good. We’re all afraid we’re not very good at something. I struggle sometimes to do some tasks that seem ridiculously easy to others. I’m sure that everyone has the voice of failure speaking into their ear constantly. Many people know how Stephen King wrote “Carrie” and then threw it in the trash when he finished it. His wife pulled it out of the trash, and now he’s a household name.
Sure, you may not think you’re good enough – and you may know people who give you horrible advise about your writing that make you want to give up. Was that the best advice for Stephen KIng? And is it still the best advice for you?
Let’s face it… we all have fear. But if we let our fears dictate who we are, then we’d never accomplish anything in life! I asked a woman once to marry me, positive she’d turn me down. If I’d let that fear rule me, then I wouldn’t have a quarter century of marriage with her today.
Write. Just write. Write your book. Write your novel. Write your short story. Just write.
Is it any good? Who cares? You’re writing because you have a story you need to tell, advice you need to give, an argument you need to make! Just write!
Why?
Here’s 5 reasons!
- You’ll get that story done. It’s going to be a huge relief to finish it! Why do people create? Because they NEED to! And who cares if it’s good? The first draft may be terrible… but you’re going to re-write and re-write and re-write… and you’ll get better every time!
- You’ll find out what parts of it you’re good at you never suspected. What if one artist who suffered from depression listened to other people about his paintings, and admitted he wasn’t a portrait artist? We’d never have Bob Ross, a man who created masterpieces in less than half an hour, and convinced millions they too could paint! And trust you me, I’d love a Bob Ross on my wall!
- You’ll enjoy it! Half the fun of creating a novel is seeing what changes you hadn’t anticipated! But if you don’t write… you’ll never have that discovery!
- Someone else may enjoy it! I’ve had books and stories I’ve owned that resonated within me. There was something they wrote that reached me deep inside. If they’d let their fear or nay-sayers stop them, I’d have missed that connection!
- And you might just get published! I had a neighbor who paid hundreds of dollars to get her poetry published in a book, to be able to look at a bookshelf, and know this was something she’d done! Certainly Stephen King had wanted and hoped to be published, but never thought it would happen. Now, he lives in a lifestyle where he can sit… and just write! Whether you get published traditionally or eBook, that’s a milestone that will be a big “I told you so” to everyone who thought otherwise!
Conclusion
People have all my life told me the chances were against me in everything I did. I don’t know, maybe I’m stubborn, but I’ve done many things well meaning people told me I’d never be able to. Don’t let your fears or other people rule your life!
Just write!
