fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #4072 ]

[ SECRET POST #4072 ]

⌈ Secret Post #4072 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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I enjoy writing, and want to be better at it, but lately I've been hindered by the intense belief that, no matter what I do, I will never, ever be anywhere near as good as the writers I admire. I have somehow internalized the lie that excellent writing is a matter of latent talent, and cannot be achieved through practice or effort.

It's really bumming me out. It's slowly turning something I love into something...anxiety-inducing. Writing is starting to make me feel depressed rather than excited.

Taking a step back feels like giving up and giving in, but is that the only course? I don't know what to do. And what's worse is that, on top of it, I'm starting to feel irrationally jealous, and to not want to read stories by people who I think write very well. I avoid their works because their skill makes me feel bad about myself.

...maybe I need to go therapy.

"...maybe I need to go therapy."

If you can afford it, it won't hurt. Mental healthcare should be as common and regular as physical healthcare.

Do you have to be as good as the writers you admire?

I know I'll never be as good as a professional at singing, but it doesn't stop me from enjoying singing.

I feel like I'm reading a post I wrote. You sound like me. I'm usually imperceptive to a writer's "voice", but this post is so me that I'm almost kind of scared.

I don't know what to say besides generic comfort/sympathy/empathy things, but I know exactly how you feel and I hope you figure it out. *hugs if wanted*

My bet is that OP is the voice in your head.

>>> I have somehow internalized the lie that excellent writing is a matter of latent talent, and cannot be achieved through practice or effort.

That is a pernicious lie and one you need to call bullshit on forthwith. They say it takes ten years to become an overnight sensation, and your first million words is practice.

My bar for "as good as my favorite writer" is "make someone cry over the death of a character they didn't even like." I have no idea if I'll ever leap over that bar, but I don't let it stop me from trying.

And maybe "stepping back" shouldn't mean "stepping back from writing," but "trying something silly and just remembering what it was like to have fun doing this." Novels are an awful slog, but try scribbling a flash piece or a short story that amuses you instead to get the magic back.

My 2c.

For me, the thing that always makes me feel better is to read bad published fiction. When I was growing up, I found a few typos in my favorite author's book and it made me feel better that the author and editor both missed those. You don't actually have to be perfect to make it to print.

Or look at the airport best sellers or harlequin romances. They're not supposed to be amazing but they can be entertaining or good enough to while away an airplane ride. Seeing that those kinds of books get published makes me feel better. Not everyone is looking for perfect. There's a market for cliche stuff or sappy romance, and people like it. Some of best selling authors have atrocious characterization or tortured sentence structure, but they're still best sellers with movie deals.

I don't compare myself to people I admire. I look at them and see what it is about them that I like and works for me, and work to incorporate it but with my own spin. Make it your own, rather than try to be like them. No one can write what you write. Your take on things is valuable and someone is going to find it interesting.

I started rewarding myself for effort.

I posted a chapter? I get a treat. Something small, but that I'm genuinely looking forward to.

I mean, I can still get hypercritical, and there is a point (editing) where hypercritical is really important. But the Carrot Plan got me writing more steadily, *and* some regular readers, both of which boost confidence.

Sometimes Done really is better than Good, yes? I still doubt myself sometimes, but there's a cookie in it if I put the work in, so...

I came to realize that I'm not the next Tolkien, Achebe, whoever I admire. I'm not out to make the next classic. Sure, I can emulate writers that I enjoy, I can learn my own way with words through them, but I have to recognize that I have to find my voice, not theirs. I use the present tense because it's easy to compare. But I don't find it useful. Yes, practice, write, work on your craft. But it's yours. I have to find the story that's mine to tell, and I have to find the words that want to be used for its does that make sense?

I can't compare myself to XYZ, because I'm not then, and I don't want to be them. We can be impressionist, but we don't all have to do a van Gogh color by numbers. And not everyone will like your writing or your story (think of how many books you've actually read and how many there are out there). But someone will enjoy it. Who knows.

You don't have to be "as good as" the writers you admire. Your ideas are worth sharing, because no one else can share them quite the same way you can.
Relevant: two cakes.
https://78.media.tumblr.com/e7acb5a8e16d00b85b5d13f0579b1044/tumblr_inline_n8vl57qwvD1r1mylc.png

I'm at the point where I consider myself pretty good at writing, but a lot of that comes from actually writing. I've made it a point to write at least a little bit every day (or edit bc that helps too), and have kept that up since November (ie NaNoWriMo) 2016. Every little bit helps.

And honestly, I can look back at the things I finished only a few months ago and see so many places I could have done better. That, in and of itself, is a sign of progress. You can't fix the mistakes until you learn to see them, after all.

"Taking a step back" doesn't have to mean "stop writing", like another anon said. You could do a short prompt, or a crackfic, something low stakes.

Brute force method: the "said your writing sucks" jar. (Like a swear jar.)
To "pay up", you either have to say one (1) genuinely positive thing about your writing, or write 100 words.
Bonus: recruit your friends to hold you accountable and/or join you in the suffering.

(Welp this comment's all over the place, lol.)

True fact, with the arguable exception of Kerouac and Vonnegut EVERYONE CREATES CRAP DRAFTS!

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[ SECRET POST #4072 ]

How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?

Re: How do you overcome the voice that tells you you'll never be good enough?