How to Recover Your Writing Confidence (Even if You Think You Never Had Any)

[paynesgrey]

One of the writers I follow on Twitter posted this. I really enjoyed it and wanted to share. Mostly because I've been having this problem lately with my own work...

How to Recover Your Writing Confidence (Even if You Think You Never Had Any)

A couple of things that stood out for me;

Under "Your Peers Can Drain Your Confidence" this line: Writing

Comments

[luxken27]

Very interesting post! I especially agreed with her about critique groups, LOL - the ones that think they're helpful, but really aren't. I've definitely run into those in my day.

Fanfic is what got me started writing again after a long break as well. It took me awhile to come around to the idea of writing fanfic again, but now that I'm here, I love it. I like taking characters I already know and challenging them in different ways, or writing little slices of life or whatever. It's familiar and comforting and dammit, it's fun!

A few of my very closest friends know about my fanficcing, but that's almost because (almost) all of them also write fanfic. I think I'm nore involved in fandom than they are, but at least they understand. Everyone else? Pffft. I just tell them I enjoy writing stories. Explaining fandom to them is too hard, LOL.

[paynesgrey]

Yeah, critique groups are really hit and miss. I generally think a majority of people want to be helpful, but sometimes they get caught up in their own opinions/perceptions which sometimes take the guise of constructive thoughts.

An word about Fanfic. It's not only fun but man, have I improved since I started it. I'm thankful for that at least.

I just tell them I enjoy writing stories. Explaining fandom to them is too hard, LOL.

THIS. So true...

[edgyauthor]

Ooh, great article! I can relate to so much of it. (Such as the teacher-thing. I once had a creative writing teacher who pretty much hated everything I wrote. When I--GASP--managed to get an A on the final, he said to me in a very rude way, "I'm surprised." Pff.)

Also, I agree, I hate it when people look down on fanfiction. It's so not a waste of time! It's a great way to practice staying in-character, keeping the world-building consistent, and heaps of other things that will only make a person's original writing better. (But it's hard to convince others of this, unfortunately...)

[paynesgrey]

LOL, why are teachers such assholes sometimes? I had a few art teachers like that, though never English teachers. Still, that's horrible.

Yeah I agree about fanfic. And some people don't realize that a lot of people start writing fanfic before they try their own, they just don't know it. Or, they keep it in a journal somewhere, lol...
I don't get the hate, really. It's helped me so much, so maybe I'm just biased.

[aiffe]

Ohh yes, fourthing or fifthing or whatever everything about family being all "YOU COULD BE A GREAT WRITERRRRR STOP WRITING FANFIC AND DO ORIGINAL FIC." Way to take all the joy out of it, Mom.

Original fic is different! You need to practice skills you don't really need in fanfic, like worldbuilding and character design and graceful exposition dumps, and you don't need skills you'd previously honed, like remembering every detail of your chosen fandom world, or getting someone else's character voices just right. And there are things it has in common--the rhythm and flow of prose, how to write an eye-catching beginning, how to pace and plot, how to make conflict, how to give the story that "punch" (which you could call the second-act turning point, or the climax--in short fics the second-act turning point often is the climax) and so on and so forth

[paynesgrey]

once I've written something I have no qualms about sharing, but being told about ~publishing~ and ~money~ and ~fame~ puts me off it like maggots would put me off a steak.

I feel somewhat like this too. I'm iffy about the fame part totally. Though, money... if I could make writing my full time job, I'd do it. Although, I fear I'd hate it after awhile, you know, after it becomes WORK and less fun.

Sometimes crit is good, but we're not ready to hear it yet, so we just get hurt and defensive. Years later, we may look back and go, "Of course! That crit was totally right!" Though by that time, we'd have realized it on our own anyway, so its usefulness is debatable.

Wow, I think this is so true. At least, I feel I've done that before. And as for crit we don't understand or isn't really useful, well, been there too. I too pretty much "note it" and then move on, you know?

I don't think any writer can be rational about the merits of something they just wrote. It's too close to them.Exactly. I know some writers that can't even stomach their

[landofthekwt]

My wife asks me why don't try writing original fiction instead of fanfiction. Fanfiction is my hobby. I have no desire to make it a job. I already have one.

Interestingly enough when I read fiction now I approach it more like fanfiction. Many of the fanfiction writers here are just as talented as the people making the big buck There is nothing really magical about writing. Just a lot of hard work.

The reviews are what sucks the fun out of fanfiction. You spend your time writing your story the way you want to and somebody comes along and tells you that you are writing your story run. That is why I hate to read reviews.

[paynesgrey]

Yeah, spouses don't seem to understand it, unless they are fanfic writers themselves. My husband just doesn't want to work, and he thinks I'll be the next Nora Roberts and we can someday live off my writing. HA! If only...

Many of the fanfiction writers here are just as talented as the people making the big buck There is nothing really magical about writing. Just a lot of hard work.

I agree totally. I've read some wonderful fanfiction, just as good, if not better, than published works.

Oh reviewers, sometimes you just want to slap the mean ones, don't you? But you've had a hard time with some speshul snowflakes, which sucks even worse I'm sure.