Sylvia Plath said the worst enemy to creativity is
self-doubt. Yet the simple fact is every writer who is serious about his or her
work will face it. I’m sure every writer can agree that they are their own
worst critic. Ever since I became serious about my writing and getting
published, I’ve been plagued by self-doubt and still am. Battling self-doubt is
never easy, but it cannot be avoided either. So how can you overcome it?
Well, after you’ve invested so much time into a project, and
so much passion, it becomes impossible not to see it through, which ties back
to two of the Four
P’s of Getting Published: patience and persistence. These virtues combined
demonstrate the reverse of self-doubt: self-confidence. Certainly sometime it
might not seem to exist, but even if you cannot see it, it must be there if
you’ve waited and endured so long to see your writing become the best it can
be.
Some writers see it instead as a challenge, one that you
should enjoy taking on. Now that delight often only seems present in the
moment; especially one has completed the first draft or the final one. But when
it comes, relish in it, because you didn’t give up. You cannot sell yourself
short, however much it or the world may seem to tell you to. If you give up,
then self-doubt has won the battle, and your creativity will wither and die.
Yet as I previously stated, self-doubt is unavoidable. I
continue to endure it even as I persevere. So what to do then? Well, self-doubt
is rooted in fear – the fear of being rejected and criticized. We all feel
fear. It too is unavoidable, something which Saershe states in my novel Mystical Greenwood. So the simple fact
is it’s no use denying the presence of fear and self-doubt. And yet, that is how
it can be defeated.
As Saershe tells my protagonists, one must accept that they
feel fear to grow stronger, and only when acknowledging and face fear can one
overcome it. That’s because by acknowledging you feel fear and self-doubt, it
takes away its power to stop you. You will constantly battle it, and you won’t
emerge unscathed, but you will emerge nonetheless, because your self-confidence
endured and you believed in your writing, and yourself.
Further Reading
- Ambers, Lorraine. Dream
Big and Don’t Hold You Back.
- Ambers, Lorraine. Positive quotes: Don’t Fear.
Book Blurb:
Mystical Greenwood, Book I of One with Nature
Publisher: Mockingbird
Lane Press
Dermot is a
fifteen-year-old boy living in the land of Denú who has always longed for
something more in life. His life changes when he encounters a gryphon and a
mysterious healer. Drawn into a conflict against one determined to subjugate
the kingdom, Dermot and his brother Brian are forced to leave their home.
A legendary coven must
now reunite, for they are Denú’s greatest hope. In the course of meeting
unicorns and fighting dragons and men in dark armor, Dermot discovers a deep,
sacred magic which exists within every greenwood he crosses through, but his
own role in this conflict is greater than he suspects. Can he protect those he
loves, or will all that’s good be consumed by darkness?
Author Bio:
Andrew McDowell wanted to be a writer since he was a
teenager. He studied at St. Mary’s College, and the University of Maryland for
grad school. He is a member of the Maryland Writers’ Association and an
associate nonfiction editor with the literary journal JMWW. Andrew has also written and
published poetry and creative nonfiction. To learn more about him and his
writing, visit his website and blog at andrewmcdowellauthor.com.
