Faith in one's own writing?

[bigsleepj]

This is something that I'd like some oppinions on.

Over the past few weeks I was seized by a strange idea. I sort of realised that the reason I was falling away from a recent writing project was because I lost my faith in it; that is, although I'm taking the writing and construction of the story very seriously I just can't help but feel that no one else would take the story as seriously as I do, and that almost want to make my give it up out of frustration rather than a lack of interest. (losing interest in a story is another thing that makes me give want to give up writing a story, but here this isn't the case). It's very depressing and I'd like to hear if any of you experienced something similar?

[~darkelfgirl~]

You're not the only one in that boat.
I can't tell how many writing projects I dumped because I thought people thought or will think it is stupid. One time, I was so angry at myself that I threw my work across the room. That was a really bad day ^^'
Try focusing on concentrating on what you want in your story, not what others might think, or else you'll never get done.

P.S. : Is it the one you are working on that's on here? I like it.

[bigsleepj]

Try focusing on concentrating on what you want in your story, not what others might think, or else you'll never get done.

I try, but somehow I just get distracted by what others think. You are right, but it's not that easy to work through this malaise.

P.S. : Is it the one you are working on that's on here? I like it.

No, not "Behind the Curtain." That's all there is to that story. I'm referring to my longer attempts at fictions. They never seem to get finished.

[USSRGirl]

Same here. For years I couldn't write because I'd get stuck one part, hate what I wrote, then scrap the whole thing. X___x;; Still happens sometimes, where I'm like "Uh...oookay. WHY THE HECK DID I WRITE THAT?!" Get frustrated and want to give it all up.

My advice is to just plow ahead. If you get stuck on a tough part, write it, come back later and try to fix it. Get to the parts you want to write, and write them as YOU want to write them without thinking of how stupid they sound or how others are going to read them. Just write it because you like what you're writing and you're having fun doing it. Once you get back into it again you forget all about everything except improving it and such. Also, if you get sick of a certain story, try something else. Write short poems, stories, do character sketches, ect. until the creative vibe comes back.

Good luck!

[meboeck]

Heh, this is actually sort of what I'm going through right now. I have what I think is a very interesting sci-fi fantasy idea, but I feel like I don't have the storytelling ability to get it across. But I'm trying anyway. I'm trying to get feedback from friends, and more than anything I'm just trying to write my ideas down while they're still fresh in my head. If you don't get your ideas down on paper you'll never know what might come of your efforts. It's an emotional risk, but it's better to try than to not try and always wonder what could have happened. I don't know if my novel idea will interest people or if I'll be able to put in on paper as clearly as it is in my head, but I know I need to try. For now, do this for your own sake and worry about your persective audience later.

[uc pseudonym]

I don't have too much difficulty finishing projects in general, but I think I know how you feel. For me it is more that I often don't believe in the quality of my writing. No matter what I do I can't escape the feeling that it is a pipe dream. But that's just me.

For whatever it is worth, what you've said to me about your longer ideas seems interesting. Not necessarily orthodox, but there's a market for that.

[Esoteric]

[quote="bigsleepj"]This is something that I'd like some oppinions on.

Over the past few weeks I was seized by a strange idea. I sort of realised that the reason I was falling away from a recent writing project was because I lost my faith in it]
To some degree, yes I deal with this. It typically comes after I've finished the first draft and begin trying to get feedback. I've gotten so used to negative criticism over the years, that I usually start putting my own work down even as I hand it to someone, almost to lower their expectations, if you will. Yet I also have managed to make a fragile peace with this fear, by telling myself that it's okay. It's okay if people think my ideas are stupid...they may even be right. But that doesn't change that fact that I derive great pleasure from writing as a hobby, so I go on writing. I suppose for someone seriously pursuing a writing career, it would be a different story.
But typically, no matter how stupid an idea may seem, there's always someone out there who will like it. Same goes for a brilliant idea; there's bound to be someone who hates it. It's tough, I know, and very frustrating at times. But I must say from what I've read of your work, it's very good and engaging. Keep writing.

[Magekind]

I know the feeling; I've tried three, I think, attempts here on this board at creating something, and so far, one has failed miserably for the same thing you're talking about, one is sleeping through my own lack of pressure, and one... has pretty well moved through to completion. Fans DO make a difference. There's also the other side of the coin; no interest can quickly kill a project, especially if you write like I do.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Yeah, I don't know. This kind of thing isn't really something that advice helps, I don't think. I mean, all of us here can be saying, "Oh, do this, don't worry about this, blah blah blah," but if you're much like me that doesn't actually help all that much (and I don't mean to insult or deride anybody who's given advice here - it's very good advice). I don't know what would help *feels useless* I know an author has to believe in his stories. They're like an author's children, and we nurture those stories and give them love and care until they grow into something greater than they started out as. But what if someone comes along and laughs at our children? Then what do we do? It's like they've torn apart this creation we've worked so hard on! And when that's happened once, it scars us forever, I think.

I'm probably not helping anything, but I hope it's a comfort to you to know that probably every author goes through this at some point. Usually I go through a state of panic right after I show my writing to someone, before they've commented on it. I'm petrified they won't like it, or will laugh at it. I guess at some point the author has to realize that if he sincerely believes in his story, trusts that it's a good story and one worth telling, one that needs to be told, then a mocking audience is unable to kill it. It'll still hurt if they laugh at it; the author will still care, but at least the story will be out there. It will be told, and in some wierd plane of fictional-story-reality, the characters will be real, their fight will be fought, and it will matter.

...*runs away and hides in embarrassment*...

[Alice]

I agree, it's probably something every writer deals with at times.

What I do when I get that "nobody would like this" / lack of faith in my stories feeling is either wait for a long time until the feelings pass and I'm not worried about what anyone else thinks about a story, or I promise myself I won't have to show it to anyone or submit it. Then sometimes I can write more easily, without trying to silence myself, or edit internally while I write. Also, it helps to keep my expectations not too high. This story doesn't have to be the best story I've ever written.

Personally, I think it's a mistake to think of "the public" or "the editors" as one big glob of people. It might not be easy, but if you can try to start thinking about people as individuals, and trying to decide if you actually care what they think about anything else, that might help.

There are no actual 'writing gods' who determine if something is worth writing about or not. Or if there are, they are probably opinionated columnists who would annoy you after reading just a couple of paragraphs worth of their bloviating nonsense.

[EricTheFred]

Heh.

This happens on every single project I do longer than the shortest of short stories.

I've finally learned to ignore the feeling and keep writing. Other than self-published web stuff, I've yet to publish... but at least now I get rejection slips written by actual editors instead of imaginary ones. That's progress!

Seriously. Take a hard look and decide whether you have a reason for feeling that way, other than simple insecurity. Unless you see an actual flaw in your story, keep working.

[Photosoph]

A lot of good points that I agree with have already been said... but I hope you don't mind if I say my piece too, even if I go over thoughts that have already been written. Hopefully I'll still end up having something helpful/good to say.

Sheesh, talk about a subject for me. I've been wondering about my writing lately... wondering how it will be recieved, if it's any good, whether I can do justice to how I see my stories, and, the thing that's gotten me the most: will the quality of my writing be all right?

A while ago, once when I became very discouraged about my writing, I decided that I would continue to write: not because I knew I was good (was I? was I not? I had no idea), not because I knew for certain I would achieve something great -there was no guarantee of that at all. Simply, because I had so many ideas that I wanted to get out -most importantly, stories I'd thought up that I thought were interesting. But more than that: writing was something that I knew I enjoyed.
I figured that, even if the case was that I was a terrible writer, or even if my stories were something that people wouldn't like... as I wrote more, I knew I could only, and would surely, improve. Besides, I think if you like an idea, there will definitely be other people who'll like it too.

Someone said that sometimes you have to force yourself to write: I agree with that. Though it might depend on the type of person you are and your writing, I've found that for me, in order to get past parts of the story where I get writer's block, and in order to get past times when I'm discouraged, I just need to put that aside and write. And usually I find that as I start writing, I begin to enjoy it again. It's never as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Even if you only manage a few sentences, sometimes that can be enough.

When I begin to doubt, sometimes I lose the passion for my ideas. For that, I try to think more about them -run scenes and characters through my head before I go to bed; imagine what it would be like to be one of them, making it through a hard place, etc. It helps me to remember what I love about the idea; the thrill that mkes me want to write it. That can help me overcome the heaviness that the doubts give me.

I think I've probably gone off track towards writer's block and losing interest, but I hope some of the points/suggestions will help. In a roundabout way, I hope I've managed to give you some ideas. Don't lose faith; keep trying. And remember, though you may have your doubts -there is NO CERTAINTY that your 'worst fears' or the bad things imagined, will be. There's still the possibility that what you do may well be fantastic; and why not?

[Alice]

I thought of a method that can increase your faith in your own writing. Granted it's not foolproof, but...

Take a short story, preferably one you don't care too much about and wrote long ago. Work on it, then shop it around. Shop it around mostly to online publishers. Even risk ones that don't pay.

You would be surprised how much even a non-paying sale helps your confidence.

It definitely gave me a shot of confidence when I sold a story to Gateway S-F several years ago. Even though they asked me for several changes, the kindly editorial imput helped. (That publisher didn't pay, and now doesn't exist, but I sold the story again recently for ten bucks... so it's not a waste even if you don't make money, because you can always try again later, if you want!)

As well, I think it's important to 'work your way up.' As you gain confidence, you won't be afraid to try for harder markets. Er, at least I'm hoping that's the case. ^^'