Amateurs Wait, Experts Write

I'm sure we can all say we're guilty of sitting and waiting for inspiration--I know I am. As much as I love to write, it's also a lot of work. Lounging around until I feel like writing or until something sparks my attention is so much easier than getting up and writing something. There is a reason that each individual sits and waits for inspiration. I don't know what your problem is, but I know mine. I'm a perfectionist. Sometimes the idea of starting something (without inspiration) scares me. What if it's a huge mess or embarrassingly lame. I don't like to fail--I don't know who does.

This ties into the doubt that I posted about a few days ago. My need to be the best and the brightest holds me back. I know that I should be comfortable writing anything at anytime, but I'm not. I'm still learning to be confident in my writing. I and all of us writers need to be confident enough in ourselves to realize that mistakes don't equate to failure. As a perfectionists, if I doubt my ability to do something well, I tend to shy away from trying at all. This is a mindset that I've been slowly letting go of over the past year and a half. Though I've left some of my perfectionists ways behind me, it can be a struggle to move forward.

I don't want to be the amateur that sits and waits for inspiration. I want to be the expert who gets up and goes to work. I think most writers can agree with that. I still want to be the best and the brightest, but I and other writers out there with this mentality have to be willing to try and risk failing horrendously before we can achieve success. 

How do you find inspiration? Tell me in the comments!

Doubt Kills Dreams

Karim Seddiki

We've all been there. The literary industry is a tough business to break into--that is, if your only goal is to publish. There is nothing wrong with wanting to publish your work. I'm right there with you; I would like to publish my manuscript. I've had a one track mind for the past few months. I worked so hard on my manuscript that (under the guise of wanting to publish the first before writing the second) I doubted my ability to write another book. Friends, family, and Figment followers (the online writing community I'm apart of) have told me they love my book, the characters are compelling, the plot is interesting etc. Receiving feedback like that from about a hundred people (both family/friends and unbiased reviewers) should have been enough to set aside my doubts. However, doubt is a powerful motivator.

Doubt causes inaction. Questions like : 'Why did I think I could do this? What makes me the right person to write this novel?' start to swell over you. The thing is: if you doubt yourself too much to try, then you have already failed. You only fail when you stop trying your best. Doubting yourself and your abilities is never going to get you anywhere. Be confident in your abilities. Doubt will keep you from writing and if you don't write you won't improve. Your work might not be ready to be published or even ready for human consumption (outside of review groups), but that isn't failure. That is a sign that you need to believe in yourself and continue writing. Don't give up, have faith that you will improve!

Have you struggled with doubt? Tell me your success (or your fall-on-your-face-failture if you like) stories in the comments!