Not sure if this is the right place to put this, but the Conquering Challenges subforum seems more devoted to non-writing issues.
So, on the surface, no big deal. I submitted a story (which was accepted), and the editor gave me some terrific advice concerning over-use of narration (aka showing vs. telling). It was absolutely spot-on. He showed me where a line that I never really loved but didn't know why was better replaced by a texted conversation conveying the same information.
In a completely unrelated (except temporally) event, I received back a critique from an online friend of mine. I'd originally asked her for a possible author blurb to use as fodder when I release my freebie novelette (for people who join my email newsletter, since miscellaneous short stories aren't getting it done). I really thought the thing was pretty good. I'd submitted it to multiple betas, revised it myself in many different moods, and I liked it.
Diana had the guts to tell me it wasn't ready and proceeded to demonstrate in numerous places why it wasn't. Now please understand that I love feedback, especially that which makes my writing better. I will always be grateful to her for doing this. One of my biggest fears is of jumping the gun too fast because I still haven't learned enough self-control and adding to the enormous pile of forgettable literature.
But now I find myself paralyzed. I don't trust my judgment at all. I've given so many critiques, both on SYW and with betas, and I thought I'd learned enough from the experience to rationally consider my own work. I've put aside stories as "just not strong enough," not many, but enough that I thought I had some kind of discernment about this whole process.
And now I can't write. I can't edit. I can't do anything except yardwork because at least that keeps me moving. I can point to something I did in my spare time that had merit.
Maybe I've written too many flash stories. It was originally a prescription for too much wordiness in my novels. Writing short made me careful with my words, with the added bonus that short stories are easy to get feedback on. But maybe I've done this too much and now rely too heavily on narration to squeeze too much story into too few words.
Maybe I've learned all I can from this story length and should focus on another, like novelettes or novellas--something that will be more similar to novel-length patterns of showing vs. telling. I don't want to write another novel. I already have eight unpublished ones. I want to finish editing these #$%& things before I make any more of them.
Maybe I just want to like my own work too much, and I'll not be able to overcome that partiality to be rational about my words, in which case I'm screwed.
I don't even know why I'm going through this much angst. I've sucked up tough critiques before and never had issues. Maybe it's because I didn't think those stories were ready. It's the surprise that got to me more than anything else.
Has anyone here ever dealt with a severe confidence crisis? Any words of advice for working through one? I've given myself time, and that doesn't seem to be getting the job done.
So, on the surface, no big deal. I submitted a story (which was accepted), and the editor gave me some terrific advice concerning over-use of narration (aka showing vs. telling). It was absolutely spot-on. He showed me where a line that I never really loved but didn't know why was better replaced by a texted conversation conveying the same information.
In a completely unrelated (except temporally) event, I received back a critique from an online friend of mine. I'd originally asked her for a possible author blurb to use as fodder when I release my freebie novelette (for people who join my email newsletter, since miscellaneous short stories aren't getting it done). I really thought the thing was pretty good. I'd submitted it to multiple betas, revised it myself in many different moods, and I liked it.
Diana had the guts to tell me it wasn't ready and proceeded to demonstrate in numerous places why it wasn't. Now please understand that I love feedback, especially that which makes my writing better. I will always be grateful to her for doing this. One of my biggest fears is of jumping the gun too fast because I still haven't learned enough self-control and adding to the enormous pile of forgettable literature.
But now I find myself paralyzed. I don't trust my judgment at all. I've given so many critiques, both on SYW and with betas, and I thought I'd learned enough from the experience to rationally consider my own work. I've put aside stories as "just not strong enough," not many, but enough that I thought I had some kind of discernment about this whole process.
And now I can't write. I can't edit. I can't do anything except yardwork because at least that keeps me moving. I can point to something I did in my spare time that had merit.
Maybe I've written too many flash stories. It was originally a prescription for too much wordiness in my novels. Writing short made me careful with my words, with the added bonus that short stories are easy to get feedback on. But maybe I've done this too much and now rely too heavily on narration to squeeze too much story into too few words.
Maybe I've learned all I can from this story length and should focus on another, like novelettes or novellas--something that will be more similar to novel-length patterns of showing vs. telling. I don't want to write another novel. I already have eight unpublished ones. I want to finish editing these #$%& things before I make any more of them.
Maybe I just want to like my own work too much, and I'll not be able to overcome that partiality to be rational about my words, in which case I'm screwed.
I don't even know why I'm going through this much angst. I've sucked up tough critiques before and never had issues. Maybe it's because I didn't think those stories were ready. It's the surprise that got to me more than anything else.
Has anyone here ever dealt with a severe confidence crisis? Any words of advice for working through one? I've given myself time, and that doesn't seem to be getting the job done.