Loving What You Write

When was the last time you read something that you wrote and truly enjoyed it?

For me, it was a couple weeks ago when I was editing the third book in my Adventures In Eldnaire trilogy. I came upon a scene in the story that had me smiling and laughing the entire way through.

The characters had such a great dynamic, and their personalities shone through the dialogue as if a spotlight was beaming down on them.

In fact, this scene was so entertaining that I almost forgot that I wrote it.

Feeling Terrible

Unfortunately, it’s not often that I fall in love with my own characters or scenes—at least during the first few drafts.

Most of the time it’s easier for me to see the flaws in my work—the clunky prose, dull character dialogue, or lackluster descriptions.

And once one insecurity forms, others are quick to follow.

I start thinking things like, “this is so bad…” “what was I thinking?” or “there’s absolutely no way that I can publish this.”

All these negative thoughts and feelings swirl around inside my mind, but behind them is one, all-encompassing belief:

“I am a terrible writer.”

So…am I really?

Is “Terrible” Objective or Subjective?

Objectively speaking, I’ve definitely written some terrible stories in my life. Like, horrifyingly bad. 

But over the past couple years, I’ve come to realize that even good authors can write bad books.

It should have been obvious. After all, even my favorite authors have written stories that I don’t particularly care for.

The word “terrible” can be subjective.

There are people who will read Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia and claim that they are fictional masterpieces, and there are others who will say that they’re overrated or long winded.

Does that mean that one group is lying or has bad taste in stories? Absolutely not!

All it means is that everyone has a different definition of what makes something terrible.

For me, I may read a book or watch a movie with amazing characters, deep themes, and a phenomenal plot, but if it has a sad or tragic ending, I may still refer to the story as “terrible” simply because it wasn’t the ending that I was hoping for.

It has everything to do with my personal feelings and opinion, and nothing to with the skills of the writers.

Confession Time

Speaking of writing, one of the things that got me into storytelling was fanfiction.

I loved the idea of taking a world and characters that already existed, and improving or expanding upon them.

I wrote several stories and had some interesting ideas, but they were executed horribly—with over-dramatic dialogue, inconsistent characters, wordy prose, and an awkward writing style.

Objectively speaking, each one of these fanfiction stories were low-quality.

And yet, even with how bad my writing was, there were still dozens of people who commented saying that they loved my awful fanfictions and couldn’t wait for the next update.

Why? Because to these people, the quality of the writing wasn’t as important as the quality of the ideas behind it.

Some people would rather a great story concept with poor writing, and others prefer good writing even if the story itself is a tad bland or lacking.

If both the story concept and the writing quality aren’t good, then that’s when we get into the “objectively bad” category.

Hate In Advance

When I first started sharing my writing, I’d warn people ahead of time that my writing would be terrible.

This warning served two purposes.

First, to lower the expectations of my reader enough so that even if they did think that my writing was bad, they could still tell me that it wasn’t as bad as I said it was.

And second, to protect myself from the pain of thinking that my writing was good when it really wasn’t.

If I always assumed the worst, then I could be pleasantly surprised if I got the best instead, right?

But unfortunately, I’ve found that it’s really difficult for me to improve my skills when I spend most of my time thinking negatively or tearing myself down.

The more I say things like, “I’m a terrible writer” the more I’ll believe it, and the more likely I’ll be to write as if I really am a terrible writer—which will keep me in a perpetual cycle of negativity with no improvement.

Speak Life

As writers, we should understand just how powerful and important words are. 

With words we can create entirely new worlds and bring people along on quests and adventures. 

With words we can bring people to tears, turn them red with anger, or bring a smile to their faces.

But as powerful as we think the written word is, the spoken words from our lips and the unspoken words in our minds are just as powerful—if not more so.

Stop calling yourself a terrible writer. 

Don’t allow your thoughts to self-sabotage your progress. 

Instead of focusing on the negatives, find positive things to say and think about yourself and your writing. 

Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
    and those who love it will eat its fruits.

Proverbs 18:21

Know Your Potential

Find the best sentence, paragraph, scene, or chapter that you’ve ever written and read it when you’re feeling insecure.

This is proof that you can write something amazing. 

Let that encourage you!

Find Your People

And I know I say this a lot, but get involved with a community of writers/people who will encourage you while still being honest about if and how you can improve.

If you can, find yourself a good writing group, or a mentor!

The best way to combat negative lies is by hearing the truth, and the best way to do that is by surrounding yourself with people who will tell you the truth and build you up when your thoughts try to tear you down.

(Just be sure to do the same for others when they need support as well!)

It’s A Process

Even if you really do think that you’re an objectively terrible writer, the good news is that you don’t have to be. 

Keep writing. Keep reading and learning from others. Soon enough, you will improve and feel more confident in your abilities.

Remember, if you start at the bottom of the skill ladder, the only way to go is up.

I know that I’m not a terrible writer. In fact, I never have been. 

Inexperienced? Yes. Insecure? Absolutely! But not terrible. 

And neither are you.

Before You Go…

How do you usually conquer self doubt?

Let me know down in the comments!

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