Boosting Confidence

Sorry, that's all I've got.

I've been daunted by edits, too, but the only way to overcome it is to conquer it. Park your butt, drum up your courage, and good luck!

Not So Bad

In all likelihood it is not as bad as it seems right now. You are overwhelmed.

Stunted said:

I feel like the story is inherently bad, in various ways, and I feel like I'm not good enough to do the editing that needs to be done.

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Somebody has to do it, and it might as well be you.

Stunted said:

But, of course, I will.

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That's better.

Stunted said:

So, to make the process easier, share with me your stories about times when you've felt this way (I'm sure most of you have some), and give me some advice about how to conquer this self-doubt.

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I still haven't conquered it, and I'm in the middle of writing the second draft of my WIP while also searching for a new day job. All you can do is just keep going.

I'll give you another Hemingway quote, cos I like them

Charlie there is no future in anything. I hope you agree. That is why I like it at a war. Every day and every night there is a strong possibility that you will get killed and not have to write.

-- to Charlie Scribner, 1940
from Ernest Hemingway On Writing

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I feel your pain. I just wrapped my last editing round on my WIP. It's one of life's painful necessities. Good luck. And I'm sure it's no where near as bad as you think it is. Though if it is then now is your chance to make it shine.

Make sure you've spent enough time away from your novel -- maybe thinking but mostly not thinking about it. Distance is good, and once you come back to editing, you'll see your story with fresh eyes.

Madison said:

Make sure you've spent enough time away from your novel -- maybe thinking but mostly not thinking about it. Distance is good, and once you come back to editing, you'll see your story with fresh eyes.

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This.

I'm doing the same thing now. I'm going through and editing and cutting all over the place. Up until now it's actually been fun, and even now it's still kind of fun and should be again once I get through this scene. I'm just really nervous because I'm at the most important conversation of the story and I don't like the way it's done. I know it needs changing, and I can think of three options that could work. I have a favorite based on what seems most accurate for the character, but I'm afraid it might come off hokey and out of nowhere (it involves the MC revealing something major about himself. i can either have the secondary character initiate the conversation, or have him start it, which i'd prefer because he's doing it out of a need to trust somebody with it. i'm just afraid it comes off like "wee out of nowhere info dump for the sake of advancing the plot). I might write it twice and then ask for an opinion to see which way works best.

I'm doing the same as you, though. As self-conscious and uncertain as I am about some of this, particularly my first few chapters, I'm just going to keep working at it with the knowledge that working hard will only improve it.

I hate editing, yet every time I edit my work, I realize that I have come out with a much cleaner copy. It's now a needed evil that I just realize has to be done if I want me baby to shine.

To quote Nike: Just do it.

You learn by doing, and if you don't do it, you'll never get better. You might make mistakes, but you'll learn from them and your next try will be better.

Here's my story, which I hope makes you feel a little better and know you're not alone in this.

My first novel comes out in two weeks, and I spent almost every day while writing the sequel that my first book was a fluke. I couldn't do it again, my publisher would cancel my contract and I'd lose my dream. I wrote the book and...it sucked. Majorly. I knew it, knew what I needed to do to fix it on a grand scale, but just couldn't do it. So I rewrote it. It still sucked. Tried it a third time. Yep, you guess it. Gag.

I stepped back, let it sit for a while, and finally the pieces started to fall into place. I have a plan now that I think will work, and I'm on try number four. It's going well so far and I think I'm finally over the hurdle. I totally have moments of panic where I think I can't do this, then I take a deep breath and remember I can. And if I screw it up again, there's always try number five. Because every time I edit, I get closer to what I want. I figure out something else that isn't working. I had to fall on my face to get it out of my system and realize that it's all part of the process. I've "failed" and it wasn't so bad. Now I can move on.

You CAN do this. Yes, you might fall on your face the first try, but we all do at some point. The ones who make it are the ones who pick themselves up and try again. We skinned our knees learning to ride our bikes too, but that didn't stop us. Besides, you might find you're a natural editor and the words come easy. You might see connections and ways to deepen your plot you didn't notice before, and the book improves in leaps and bounds.

Take a deep breath, pick a scene, and just start.

Yeah, everybody has flagging confidence once in a while. For me, having another person whose opinion I can trust read my book helps a lot. It's nice to get compliments on what works along with advice on what doesn't.

I sympathise, and because I have much experience of low writerly confidence, I have a bulletproof fix.

Every compliment I receive about my writing, I save in a central file. When I'm feeling glum I reread it. If other people enjoy my work, I can't be that much of a stupid hack who should die in a fire.

If I didn't do this I would be insane by now. Insaaaaane.

Work comes before confidence. Work builds confidence, and proficiency. So wade in and slog on, one page at a time. That's all anyone can do.

I have a doc called 'I don't suck' where I save bits of my work - paragraphs or just a phrase - that I feel are damn fine bits of writing. It helps pick me up when I'm feeling a bit low.
Good luck Stunted - once you get started, it will be nowhere near as painful as the worry of starting.

Parametric said:

Every compliment I receive about my writing, I save in a central file. When I'm feeling glum I reread it. If other people enjoy my work, I can't be that much of a stupid hack who should die in a fire.

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This is an awesome idea!

Gemnyc said:

This is an awesome idea!

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I am the queen of no confidence. I spend half my writing time staring at a blank screen knowing that I'm a no-hope loser who should just give up. So this technique has to work pretty hard to keep up with me.

I try to not look at it as defeat or "aww, I really suck" or "how am I going to do this?" Instead, I try to look at it as a challenge to make something that is good (or even not very good) better. Detaching yourself from the work is essential, I believe -- but not so detached that you don't care anymore, but enough to look at the work objectivity instead of a measure of your own self-worth.

I usually put the work away for a while before attempting the rewrite/edit. And I look at it as a piece of work that needs to be fixed, polished, etc. And I look for holes, problems... Basically I put on my editor/fix-it-guy hat and go to work. There's no other way around it.

And if you see problems, instead of beating yourself over it and thinking "I suck," try to find ways to improve it. Brainstorm if you must. Ask for help if you can. Fix it.

There comes a time, though, that you may find the whole thing is not very good to begin with and is not salvageable. And it's okay to trunk your own novels sometimes. The idea is to make something that actually works, and grow as a writer. The fact that we can see the flaws in our own work and are able to walk away from it and start something new means we have grown as writers. That's something to be happy about.

I wouldn't know, I never get to edit, only rewrite.

FML.

maestrowork said:

I try to not look at it as defeat or "aww, I really suck" or "how am I going to do this?" Instead, I try to look at it as a challenge to make something that is good (or even not very good) better. Detaching yourself from the work is essential, I believe -- but not so detached that you don't care anymore, but enough to look at the work objectivity instead of a measure of your own self-worth.

I usually put the work away for a while before attempting the rewrite/edit. And I look at it as a piece of work that needs to be fixed, polished, etc. And I look for holes, problems... Basically I put on my editor/fix-it-guy hat and go to work. There's no other way around it.

And if you see problems, instead of beating yourself over it and thinking "I suck," try to find ways to improve it. Brainstorm if you must. Ask for help if you can. Fix it.

There comes a time, though, that you may find the whole thing is not very good to begin with and is not salvageable. And it's okay to trunk your own novels sometimes. The idea is to make something that actually works, and grow as a writer. The fact that we can see the flaws in our own work and are able to walk away from it and start something new means we have grown as writers. That's something to be happy about.

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So you have two novels in production right now ray?

How many trunked?

lucidzfl said:

So you have two novels in production right now ray?

How many trunked?

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No, I have one published. One in progress, none in production. And none trunked, so far.

lucidzfl said:

I wouldn't know, I never get to edit, only rewrite.

FML.

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You totally deserved it (1)

It's all in the service of the same thing, so don't sweat it.

Hah. I feel the opposite. The first draft writing is where I feel all my insecurities. I find the real fun to be in the rewriting. The first draft is just to produce something good enough to be rewritten.

I found the writing of the first draft of my finished MS to be rather easy, and then I realised it kind of sucked in a mechanical sort of way.

I haven't done any editing yet - I'm trying to find an editor who can point me in the right direction, impart some knowledge based on the MS in question. That first MS will need more rewriting than editing, I think.

The second book, my main WIP, is much better than the first one for a first draft point of view, so it'll be more editing than rewriting I think. There's just a lot more lines that I think are great.

My ultimate goal is to have one first draft published before I die... that means learning a hell of a lot and finding the right story and then being meticulous while writing it... and probably being stubborn when it comes to dealing with the editor!

But you've got to dream, right?

Stunted said:

So, to make the process easier, share with me your stories about times when you've felt this way (I'm sure most of you have some), and give me some advice about how to conquer this self-doubt.

Click to expand...

Honestly, the only way to conquer the self doubt is to just do it. Don't wallow. Just get the job done. The self doubt dissipates at that point because you've proven to yourself that you can do it.

This, of course, only lasts until the next book, when you have to prove yourself to yourself all over again.