"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt." ~ Sylvia Plath.
Hi, guys.
I read this inspiring post Sunday and wanted to share. It's called What If Your Biggest Naysayer Is Yourself?
This is a huge struggle for me personally. Internally, I am always dealing with these kinds of thoughts while I'm writing or editing a book. They're the kind that say what I write will never be good enough... The kind that kind that tell me I'm going to fail... The kind that tell me to quit now while I'm ahead.
They are insidious and hurtful and they kill my creativity, like Ms. Plath points out above. That quote of hers has always resonated with me deeply... maybe I should frame it and stick in on the wall above my desk.
Self-doubt. Fear. Sense of worthlessness.
In 2012, I'm not going to let those thoughts stop me from writing.
Does anybody else have an inner critic like mine?
Hi, guys.
I read this inspiring post Sunday and wanted to share. It's called What If Your Biggest Naysayer Is Yourself?
This is a huge struggle for me personally. Internally, I am always dealing with these kinds of thoughts while I'm writing or editing a book. They're the kind that say what I write will never be good enough... The kind that kind that tell me I'm going to fail... The kind that tell me to quit now while I'm ahead.
They are insidious and hurtful and they kill my creativity, like Ms. Plath points out above. That quote of hers has always resonated with me deeply... maybe I should frame it and stick in on the wall above my desk.
Self-doubt. Fear. Sense of worthlessness.
In 2012, I'm not going to let those thoughts stop me from writing.
Does anybody else have an inner critic like mine?
GREAT post, Kate! I wish you well on your resolution for 2012. I make the same one every year and promptly break it by, oh, 8 a.m. New Year's Day. I just battle those creeping flights of self-doubt, anxiety and insecurity all day, every day. Part of that is good stress; it makes me fight harder to prove to myself and others that I'm worth reading. Part of that is negative stress. Either way, it's nice to see I'm not alone. Best of luck wtih your writing; going to check out The Curse Girl now!!!
ReplyDeleteRusty: Thanks for your kind words, and thanks for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think a lot of writers tend to be their own worst self-critics. With one of my books in particular I had SO much self-doubt while writing it, for so many reasons. (I plan to do a blog post on that soon.) That's when persistence is so important, and telling yourself positive things to get those nagging voices to be quiet. You have a lot to say--good things to say.
ReplyDeleteYES YES YES YES. I do. I'm working on something now, and I have to struggle to tell myself to keep going that editing comes later. It can be so frustrating to keep going forward, and often times its sheer disciple or my competitive spirit to keep going.
ReplyDeleteLaura: Too true. And some books are worse than others, at least for me.
ReplyDeleteNicole: The not-editing-now thing is such a struggle, isn't it? Grrr.
I have a huge inner critic, and an even bigger editor.
ReplyDeleteyup. my critic mimics yours.
ReplyDelete