How do you begin believing you're good enough?

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Melina

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I was talking with my daughter about an article I'd written, and I told her I didn't think it was good enough for publication. Then it occurred to me that I could've received the Pulitzer, or the Nobel Prize for Literature, and I probably still wouldn't think it was good enough.

Have you been there? Are you still there? If not, do you have any tips/tricks to convince yourself you're good enough?
 

Anaquana

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I think most of us hit that point at one time or another and some of us hit that point with each piece we write. The way I get through it is to pretend like I think I'm good enough until the moment passes and I see how good I really am.
 

OnlyStones

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A little Stuart Smalley always gets me cranked up.



Seriously though, for me it's just come through the process of naming the real problem, which is fear, and then walking/writing through it. Once I'm beyond that moment when fear feels like such a threat, things always get better. The trick is to remember this at the onset.
 
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Kerosene

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You don't.

Plain and simple.


To say someone else's writing is good enough, is to say, "It's clear enough to understand and meet the perimeters set by a subjective system."

I can't begin to count what makes publishable, or "safe for human consumption", writing good enough. It's just a gut feeling.

Statistic wise, if the reader can understand what's happening with a clear thought, 50% of the time, the writing is clear enough. More than that, is better, less is worse. (I pulled this out of The Elements of Style, not verbatim)


Personally, I know, as does my writing groups know, that I am a publishable writer. But I feel like if I put something out that is sub par, "Unsafe for human consumption", that I'd be letting myself and the reader down. I want my first words into this world to impact, with as much devastation that I can drop at once; then I will raise the bar above that.

That said, my current WIP has a load of confidence to be "good enough" to send out into this world.


But it's all a gut feeling. I highly press that you make sure you don't say "It's good enough" because you and I know, it's never good enough. It's never good enough ;_;
 

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I medicate myself with chocolate and cheesy pop music when that nasty voice starts in. I don't know there is ever a way past the doubts and that might be a good thing. I'm always afraid that this book is the one that will out me as a fraud, as a no talent hack. That fear pushes me to work harder and listen to my editor. A certain amount of fear is healthy. Too much is crippling.
 

Ruth2

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Belief in myself comes and goes. I acknowledge it for what it is, and I keep going.

It helps to have someone you admire believe in you.
 

CheekyWench

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I medicate myself with chocolate and cheesy pop music when that nasty voice starts in. I don't know there is ever a way past the doubts and that might be a good thing. I'm always afraid that this book is the one that will out me as a fraud, as a no talent hack. That fear pushes me to work harder and listen to my editor. A certain amount of fear is healthy. Too much is crippling.

This. Right now, especially. Three books out. Why am I fooling myself? Do they publish me because they feel pity?

I've been at it for just 4 years. It doesn't get better, I'm afraid.
 

Melina

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I medicate myself with chocolate and cheesy pop music when that nasty voice starts in. I don't know there is ever a way past the doubts and that might be a good thing. I'm always afraid that this book is the one that will out me as a fraud, as a no talent hack. That fear pushes me to work harder and listen to my editor. A certain amount of fear is healthy. Too much is crippling.

There it is. I think I'm afraid I'll be exposed as a fraud. And it has been crippling.
 

buz

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Have you been there? Are you still there? If not, do you have any tips/tricks to convince yourself you're good enough?

I'm always there. I have a persistent belief that I cannot produce of value or do anything with competence. Sometimes this does totally constipate me. But if I let it keep me stuck, I know I'll never change or get anywhere, and that thought is worse than the fear of exposing myself as an idiot and being a failure.

So I challenge myself to prove me wrong. I submit things sometimes, I apply to things, I do things I don't think I can do. I fail frequently, but the times I succeed matter a lot to me. I can build up evidence against my own stupid brain. I have developed an attitude of "oh yeah well GO PEE IN YOUR OWN MOUTH, SELF" and this helps sometimes, this ridiculous false defiance.

Writing is also different from a lot of things I've attempted. I've seen definite progress. I've seen myself go from absolute shit to a more fixable state of moderate crap. It's encouraging to know that I can change how bad I am.

I don't think I'm good enough, and I don't know that I ever will. But for now at least, the idea of getting better is shiny and alluring enough to me.
 

dolores haze

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I take the pressure of by acknowledging that it doesn't matter if I'm good or completely crap. The editor will make that call. So, no harm in trying.
 

Unimportant

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I can build up evidence against my own stupid brain. I have developed an attitude of "oh yeah well GO PEE IN YOUR OWN MOUTH, SELF"

OMG I love this so very much that I am going to plagiarise it every single day for the rest of my life.

I, too, am there pretty much constantly. Sometimes I can break through it by reading a bunch of published stuff that I don't think is really very good. Then I say "See, self? That stuff wasn't stellar, and it got published. So see if your own non-stellar stuff can sneak past an editor." (From now on, of course, I shall add "And go pee in your own mouth, self.")

This only works if I haven't read anything by Stacia Kane or Beth Bernobich or Cat Hellison in a while, though. The biggest downside of Downside is that it paralyzes my writing ability for months at a time, because I know I will never in my life write anything one zillionth as good, even if I name my characters Horrible and Checkers.
 

Filigree

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I'll always feel I'm not good enough, in whatever discipline or media I'm trying at the moment. I've learned to look beyond it. My fear of not living up to my potential is stronger than my fear of being called a fraud. I'd rather make the attempt, at least.

Plus, I have this 'oh yeah, sez who?' circuit that eventually kicks in. It might verge on megalomania at times, but it does keep me going.
 

evilrooster

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There's a fair argument that it's the people who don't feel self-doubt who should be worried. So you're safe, and so am I.

I try to keep one particular anecdote in mind when I start telling myself I'm not good enough.

John W. Campbell, editor of Astounding (one of the first generation of really good SF magazines; Campbell is one of the genre's founding fathers), is talking to a writer. Said writer explains that he hasn't yet written anything good enough to submit to Astounding.

"Young man," thunders Campbell, "the only person allowed to reject submissions to Astounding is me!"
 

seun

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I medicate myself with chocolate and cheesy pop music when that nasty voice starts in.

When the nasty voice starts in on me, I take it out the back and kick the shit out of it give it a sound thrashing.

Doubt never goes away. The important thing is to keep writing even when the doubt kicks in.
 

Silver-Midnight

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Truthfully, I'm still learning. I still fear that I'll be considered even if I do get published. I'm still trying to learn how to ignore that little voice in the back of my head that whispers about how bad a sentence is, how I won't be published, how I'm not as good as (enter author name here), and etc. I don't know if these fears will go away. I honestly doubt they will. In fact, they may just get worse with time and as I get further in my writing. However, I don't know.

I really try not to think about it. One, it cripples my writing, whether completely stopping me or just messing me up. It hinders me. So, I just try not to think about it. Two, it really makes me upset to think about it honestly. I have a fear, and I really don't want to think about it. Haha. That doesn't mean it won't go away. I doubt it will go away. Not thinking about it probably won't even mean that it won't happen. However, the less thought I put into it, the better I think.

At the end of the day, I just want to write, and enjoy what I write.
 

KTC

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I was talking with my daughter about an article I'd written, and I told her I didn't think it was good enough for publication. Then it occurred to me that I could've received the Pulitzer, or the Nobel Prize for Literature, and I probably still wouldn't think it was good enough.

Have you been there? Are you still there? If not, do you have any tips/tricks to convince yourself you're good enough?

Nothing I ever write is good enough for publication. I'm shocked as hell EVERY SINGLE TIME something of mine gets published. For me, I don't think that will ever change. Nothing I do is good enough for anything.
 

victoriastrauss

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Have you been there? Are you still there? If not, do you have any tips/tricks to convince yourself you're good enough?

I've been there. Eight books on, I'm still there. I'll be honest and say it's an almost daily struggle. I think that if you're the kind of person to feel this way, you'll always be that kind of person, and it's pointless to long for change--it's more helpful simply to try to get better at coping.

Over the years, I've become better able to intellectually divorce myself from my gut feelings of unworthiness/impostorship, to say to myself "That's just you again, being you" and to push on regardless. Even in the moments when I can't have faith in myself, I can usually find faith that I can get past the moment and move on--if only because I've done it so many times before.

As crippling as it can sometimes be, doubt can be a fruitful thing. Doubt is what makes me question my choices, move beyond the obvious solution, and ask myself constantly "Is this really my best?" On balance I'd rather be plagued by doubt than by its opposite--though I'd love to be a bit less plagued by it than I am.

- Victoria
 

Jamesaritchie

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What difference does it make? Your writing is what it is, and opinion, yours or anyone else's, doesn't change this.

I just write it. When someone else buys it, I consider it good enough.

For me, good enough to sell is all I can do. Any quality beyond this is not my decision, it's all up to readers and posterity.

I'm too busy writing the next piece to care.
 

CQuinlan

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You don't.
At least I don't. I'm lazy by nature and won't push myself to make things better if they are 'good enough'. Unless other writers or an agent or a plain old
Then I bluff.
 

CrastersBabies

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I've had some praise.
I've had some criticism.

What I do know is that some people love what I write. Others don't.

And, if that Twilight chick can be successful (and write like a 4th grader), then hell, what's stopping me?
 

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I find it helps to have a good friend or two who can talk you off the ledge. I'm blessed enough to have a small group of supportive writer friends. When I get too down on myself, I can turn to one of them to help pick me back up. Plus the chocolate and pop music. I'm not kidding about those. I have a "Blue Day" list on my iPod for just such days.
 

Melina

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What difference does it make? Your writing is what it is, and opinion, yours or anyone else's, doesn't change this.

I just write it. When someone else buys it, I consider it good enough.

For me, good enough to sell is all I can do. Any quality beyond this is not my decision, it's all up to readers and posterity.

I'm too busy writing the next piece to care.

Yours is the attitude I wish I had.
 

Mr. Anonymous

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You can begin believing you're good, when strangers start telling you you're good.

Praise from family/friends is great, but they're never going to approach the material objectively, and even if they think what you've produced isn't very good, they will be hesitant to say so.

We are all horrible judges of our own ability. One day I think I'm great, the next I think I'm awful. One day I think I'm producing something special, the next I think it's all rubbish. A lot of it doesn't even have to do with the writing itself--the mood I'm, how I'm feeling, etc can impact my perception of my own ability. I'd be lying to you if I told you I've found a way to quit worrying about the whole "Am I good enough?"/"Is this good enough?" business, but what I can tell you is I don't let my insecurity stop me from writing and trying to get published.
 
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NeuroFizz

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I don't understand the "fraud" thing. If you write an original story, it may be bad but it is not a fraud, nor are you. I suspect it was meant as a figure of speech, but I don't like to see that word used to describe people who write original works.

There are two aspects that help me with self-doubt. First, I realize I can't judge my own work. I have to put it out for peer review (including beta readers and eventually agents/editors via submissions). This will give me the feedback I need to analyze my current story and my progress in learning and understanding the craft of writing fiction.

Second, and most important, I use every bit of feedback as a combination gut-check and learning experience to help me improve in the various aspects of the craft and of storytelling.

Put them together, and it is necessary to have realistic expectations and realistic goals--grandiose is as bad as self-flagellating.

My suggestion is simple. Stop agonizing about it and find out for sure. Put your work out for review. Not by your mother or friends, but by someone who has some writing experience. Use that feedback to make your decision about the current state of your writing talent/abilities and then do something about it.

Finally, don't judge yourself based on a single project. Produce more projects, taking care to learn from each, and form your self-impression from your progress and improvement. A single story may be a clunker, but the one before it and the one after it may each be of significant quality.
 
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Melina

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I don't understand the "fraud" thing. If you write an original story, it may be bad but it is not a fraud, nor are you. I suspect it was meant as a figure of speech, but I don't like to see that word used to describe people who write original works.

There are two aspects that help me with self-doubt. First, I realize I can't judge my own work. I have to put it out for peer review (including beta readers and eventually agents/editors via submissions). This will give me the feedback I need to analyze my current story and my progress in learning and understanding the craft of writing fiction.

Second, and most important, I use every bit of feedback as a combination gut-check and learning experience to help me improve in the various aspects of the craft and of storytelling.

Put them together, and it is necessary to have realistic expectations and realistic goals--grandiose is as bad as self-flagellating.

My suggestion is simple. Stop agonizing about it and find out for sure. Put your work out for review. Not by your mother or friends, but by someone who has some writing experience. Use that feedback to make your decision about the current state of your writing talent/abilities and then do something about it.

Finally, don't judge yourself based on a single project. Produce more projects, taking care to learn from each, and form your self-impression from your progress and improvement. A single story may be a clunker, but the one before it and the one after it may each be of significant quality.


Perhaps "fraud" was the wrong word to use. "Pretender" may have been more appropriate.
 
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