"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."
―Sylvia Path

While reading through a blog earlier this evening I found the writer of the blog was all so a novel writer and sadly, suffered from a great deal of self-doubt and what I perceived to be anger at their own lack of success (or at least what was a lack of success in their minds.) And through that, I got another idea for an entry in my little booklet-that is the importance of finding an aspect of your writing that you are proud of.

I think this is importance for a number of reasons, especially when you write online.

1. When you see others soaring miles ahead of you, that can be hard.

Let's face facts here we all want our work to be noticed and enjoyed by legions of people-and if we say we aren't we're probably lying or selling something. (Caught the reference anyone?) While I think it is perfectly possible to be content with a handful of passionate and loving readers, it always stings a little when you see another person hearing from hundreds of people a day how amazing their work is and you're lucky to maybe hear from two people every two weeks if you are lucky.

It hurts.  Plain and simple.

You are working just as hard as this other writer. You're putting in just as many hours, maybe more than they are. You've been writing just as long as them. Maybe it's been longer. Maybe you joined Wattapd (or another site at the same time.) Perhaps you've been there twice as long.

Whatever factors are in play, seeing someone else soar while you're still stuck on the ground is hard. Even if they're a good friend to you, it can still be hard to see them succeed when you're not. It's just the sad fact.

2. You are your own worst critic.

No one is going to be tougher on your work than you are. Your writing seems boring to you, it's predictable, it's slow-moving. This scene here is choppy and poorly written. You keep misspelling these words here, you're grammar is horrid-that list always runs around and around in your head no matter how hard you try and shut it off. Some days that replay is on quiet and other days it is on full blast.

That negative voice never ever shuts up and it cuts at your self-esteem, your self-worth and makes you doubt your ability and whether or not you have what it takes to write that book.

3. If you feel bad about your writing, your writing is going to suffer.

If you start hating what you write, hating every word you put down on that page and then deleting it all you are never going to finish your manuscript. You have to love what you do, and if you spend the entirety of your writing session wallowing in self-doubt, frustration and anger, well you aren't really going to sit down and writer that book are you? People tend to avoid things that make them feel awful if they can, and seeing as writing fiction is a voluntary thing you certainly can avoid it.

This goes without saying really, but I'm going to say it anyway: avoidance is bad for finishing books.

Anyone here familiar with these experiences? All three? All three on multiple occasions?

I fall into the last category and can say that all of these really, really suck. That's why I think it's important to at least find at least one aspect of what you do that you are proud of. Not only proud because you came so far with it, but proud because you think you do this well. Proud because you can see this skill with your own eyes. Proud because you don't need someone else to tell you, "hey you kick butt at this", (even though it is nice to hear!)

It's a positive thought like that, that I feel can really help you get through those hard times. See someone soaring into viral fame with their work and you're barely getting thirty reads? Remind yourself that this doesn't mean you're a bad writer.

"I'm not famous and I'm not the best writer, but I have good ____ and someone will recognize it."

That replay being loud? Help quiet it down and remind yourself that the inner critic is exaggerating. Everything you write is not awful. You are a not a failure.

"Yes, this part is rough and needs work. But this part here is good. I managed to pull of ____ really well and overall ____ is really strong."

And overall, this practice can help make writing a little more enjoyable just because it helps keeps those negative feelings at bay, or at least keeps them from being so overwhelming all you want to do is throw in the towel and say "I'm done!"

So tell me, what's your One Thing? For me, it's my characters and how they're not static. That is to say, they don't stay the same throughout the entire story. I may not always nail the character arc, but at least I can say they don't end the story as the exact same person they were when they began.

That's my One Thing. It's how I keep myself positive during those rough patches and I want to know yours-so tell me in the comments about your One Thing.

Until next time-write on! :)