Writing Through Doubt
By Carleen Brice | October 14, 2011 |
Therese here. I’m excited to present today’s guest, author Carleen Brice, who’s here to talk about self-doubt and how to combat it. Her debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey, was made into a Lifetime Movie Network movie under the title Sins of the Mother, and pulled in the highest rating of any movie produced by that network. Sins of the Mother won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding TV Movie, and Jill Scott, who played the mother in that book, won for Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie. (If you missed Sins of the Moter and would like to catch it, it just so happens to be playing again tomorrow (10/14) and Sunday (10/16) on LMN.)
Carleen’s sophomore novel, Children of the Waters, was another gem and the focus of my interview with her here in 2009. She’s currently working on edits for her third novel, Every Good Wish. I’m glad she pulled away from them long enough to write this post for us, and you will be too because it’s fantastic.
Finally, I want to take this opportunity to announce that Carleen will be starting as a regular WU contributor in January. We’re thrilled to have her aboard. Enjoy the post!
Writing Through Doubt
I’m working on a rewrite of my third novel, which sometimes fills me with so much anxiety I want to crawl not just under the covers, but under the bed. In the past, I’d be able to stay out from under the bed by doing some healthy things, but also hitting the cookies. I recently joined Weight Watchers, so the cookie solution isn’t viable, and, frankly, at times feels like another goal I just might fail to achieve. So when Therese asked me to write a guest blog post, I decided to interview some life coaches and talk to my writer friends to see if I could learn more (better) ways to deal with self-doubt.
Start small
Steven Barnes, life coach, screenwriter, speculative fiction writer and co-author of the Tennyson Hardwick mystery series (along with his wife Tananarive Due and actor Blair Underwood) says starting small is a great way to conquer doubt.
“Work on shorter projects. Short stories or articles,” he said. “Do not write books until you have published (and been paid for) shorter work. This is like running a marathon when you’ve never run around the block!”
But what if, like me, you’re already working on a novel? Barnes says the same advice to think small holds true.
“Divide your goals into tiny bite-sized chunks that can be accomplished in one day,” he said. “A fine goal is: write 1,000 words. If you are ‘blocked,’ then simply take a story written by a classic writer, and type that out. Do the work, no matter what.”
Create a new belief
Achieving a daily goal will help build confidence that you can achieve a more long-term goal. Robin Johnson, life coach and author of Awakening a Chocolate Mystic, calls this process “collecting evidence.”
“People often can carry an old unconsciousness belief that stems from some past event, such as a teacher giving a failing grade on an essay or getting some criticism about their work,” she said. “Now as an adult, this old belief is running underneath the new desire to be a writer.
“In order to change the old behavior, you must first install a new belief system about being a ‘wonderful writer,’” she said. “You collect evidence from new situations that show this new belief to be true. As feedback comes, new evidence is collected. This allows the new belief and new behavior to be anchored so that writing a book is now possible.”
Focus on your goal
Delving into why you haven’t succeeded in the past isn’t as important as focusing on what you want to accomplish now, says Diane Sieg, author of the CD and soon-to-be- published book, 30 Days to Grace. “What we focus on expands,” she said. “Once we decide what it is we really want, focus on it every day for 30 days and transformative change takes place. I have seen it in weight loss, increased sales and completion of writing projects.”
Keep the channel open
Start small, collect evidence, focus on what you want and the self-doubt goes away? Alas, no. My experience is that each new book brings its own form of doubt. All the writers I talked to agreed that doubt is part of the process.
“I won’t say I’ve ever successfully subdued the doubt, at least not completely,” said Elizabeth Eslami, author of Bone Worship. “The best you can do is to recognize it, think of it as an unwelcome relative who shows up at your door with troubling regularity. Have some compassion for your fearful self. Then give your relative a hug, thank her for coming, and shove her the hell out of your way.”
Rosalyn Story, author of Wading Home, looks to the past for strength. “As a writer and musician I’ve learned and accepted that doubt comes with the territory,” she said. “I think it must be required for the creative process. But sometimes the doubt is so stunning that I need a little jolt just to get me back to the page or the practice room. When I have those moments of hopeless incompetence, I pull out my little note: a wonderful letter from Martha Graham to Agnes DeMile.
“In it Martha tells Agnes, who’s obviously stuck in doubt, that we don’t even have to believe in ourselves or our work. We simply have to ‘keep the channel open’ – to stay open and aware of that urge that motivates us. Whenever I read this, I understand that if I can accept my talent, my creative urge, then I have to accept the doubt that comes with it,” Story said.
Accept it and use it, says Glorious author Bernice McFadden. “I use it as stepping stone to overcome my insecurities. I acknowledge it for a time – even entertain it – and then I crumple it into a ball, sprinkle it with sea salt and swallow it whole.”
For more inspirational quotes and advice on conquering doubt from award-winning and best-selling writers, check out my blog post on Girlfriends Book Club.
Readers, how do you push through your doubts? We’d love to hear your strategies in comments.
You can learn more about Carleen and her novels on her website and blogs (The Pajama Gardener and White Readers Meet Black Authors), and by following her on Twitter. Write on!
Photo courtesy Flickr’s Hans Dekker
Carleen Brice writes nonfiction and fiction. Her most recent books are the novels Orange Mint and Honey, which was made into a Lifetime television movie called “Sins of the Mother,” and Children of the Waters. She’s currently at work on a novel called Every Good Wish.
Nice review sampler of wonderful authors’ thoughts on the subject. I suggest that NO writer is without doubt to some degree on any given project. It’s universal, isn’t it?
The prescription that moves me beyond is KEEP GOING!
All great tips for accomplishing anything. “Create a new belief” is probably the most difficult and most powerful, in my opinion. Things to think about over the weekend :)
I think “create a new belief” may be part of the reason that writers flock to the internet. We create blogs to help us write in a way that can garner more immediate feedback and fuel our learning and our excitement. At least, that’s part of why I do it. (The other part is I can’t shut up, lol.)
Thanks for sharing some strategies! This has been good food for thought. I think I’m going to go walk my dog and start focusing on my goal for the next 30 days.
Yes, we’re all collecting evidence that it is possible to actually finish one of these damn things, and even do it well. Hopefully, we can also collect evidence about our own past successes and hold all this info tight to our hearts when we’re facing a blank page.
First of all, welcome to WU as a contributor, Carleen! Looking forward to more excellent posts like this one.
Love ‘Keeping the channel open.’ Don’t want to get all mystical or supernatural on WU’s comment board, but I personally believe that the stories I write are ‘given gifts.’ If I choose to believe that, I must necessarily believe I was ‘chosen’ as the receiver. If all that is so, who am I to doubt?
Thanks for the reminder. I better get back to my rewrite–to being worthy of the gift. ;-)
Oh, let’s get all woo-woo. :-) I think there’s something to the idea that the stories choose us. But it was much easier for me to hold that idea on my first novel than it is now though. Now, I have to work to remind myself to keep writing with the same spirit of telling a story that only I can tell in a way that only I can tell it.
Wow, comments so quickly! I’m impressed! And pleased! Thanks!
I also resonated most with keeping the channel open. That thing which compels us, nudges us and sets our hearts beating a little faster is what we must honour. It doesn’t doubt us.
Improv actors have a technique called Yes – And where they say YES and accept anything that is thrown at them (no matter what) but then also build on it when they say AND… When you think about it, it’s a great way to deal with life’s ups and downs. Why not apply it to one’s writing life and our pesky doubts?
Excellent post, Carleen! I believe doubt goes with the territory… and dealing with it in these positive ways helps us grow as writers.
Thanks, and welcome to WU.
Carleen,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on a universal feeling for all artists. I especially like, ‘Keep an open channel.’ The minute you throw up your hands and give up, you’re finished. My best coping strategy for dealing with doubt is to take a step back from my work and do a diagnosis. What’s not working? Is it a character? The story itself? Is it just temporary writer’s block? Thanks again.
When I read the post title “Writing Through Doubt,” my first thought was “is there any other way?”
I’ve come to accept that it’s part of the process. I’ve tried switching up projects, just powering through, and taking a break. They’ve all been strategies that have worked in the past. If one of these doesn’t work, I move on to the next. Eventually the writing fire comes back and overpowers the doubt.
These are all great ideas. I hadn’t heard the one about typing out the story of a classic writer to get unblocked. I’ll keep that in my arsenal for the next time I’m blocked. Thanks so much!
Thanks for all these additional suggestions. Everyone who commented has noted that Yep, doubt comes with the territory. It’s just a matter of how you deal with it so it doesn’t stop you.
Wish I’d seen this earlier! I’ve been going through this exactly! Thanks so much for the tips, they’ll be so much help!
“focus on you goal!” I am repeating that so often, but at some moment I don’t know which exactly is my goal – working at my 3 places or taking care about my kids…
Anna, you sound like you have a lot on your plate! A small daily writing goal sounds like it might be helpful. Maybe 10 minutes with a notepad and pen? Or 10 minutes of reading a book you enjoy?
Sometimes it’s a little spooky how the post of the day seems to hit home with me. I’ve been procrastinating all morning.
I think it’s important to recognize your own patterns and needs as well. I seem to work in cycles. I’ve learned that when I have a really good day – you know where the perfect line or scene has you smiling and bouncing up and down as your fingers hit warp speed across the keyboard – the next day will be hell for me. This used to send me in to a near depressive state as I allowed myself to be consumed with doubt and fear.
But since recognizing the pattern it’s not paralyzing anymore. I know it’s coming and make plans to work around it. If I have a really great day writing, I know I’ll need to work on editing or research or just catch up on my blog reading the next.
Thanks for a really great post and the kick in the pants I needed today! :)
I agree with Kendra: it is spooky that this post arrived today, when I really needed it!
Thanks, Carleen, for a terrific post. I’ll keep this one to read now and then, when the doubts rear their ugly heads.
i got so much done today and permanently out of my hair! (for a change) and whoosh, lots of great dialogue flew into my head. maybe that’s the mantra I need to chant: ‘unload the inane paperwork unload the inane paperwork unload the inane paperwork…
Welcome to WU, Carleen! You picked a topic I often revisit out of necessity, so thank you for that.
My source of doubt is my inner editor’s roommate. She is a shrew that’s always chattering in my ear. It took me years to learn to ignore her and that’s what made my writing soar. I had to treat her like a bad dog. If she can’t behave then she has to stay outside until she can.
A person who never doubts themselves is probably not very good at what they do.
One of the writers I quoted in my other post on the topic on the Girlfriends Book Club blog said the exact same thing!
I reach a point in every book where I start to doubt myself, whether I have the capacity to finish the project, whether the project is even worth finishing. The first time this happened I put the book aside and worked on a collection of short stories for two years, distanced myself from the work (and gained a degree of perspective) before returning to it with a clear head and a new voice which is what the work needed.
Imagine driving a car in the fog. You’re not sure where you are. You could be going in completely the wrong direction. The sensible thing to do is park the car, get a bit of shut-eye and wait for the fog to lift. Since I’m not a jobbing writer I can afford to do that. For some authors a walk around the park might be enough, or a week in the Cotswolds. Me, I need much longer. I need to practically forget what I was doing which is why having other things to do is a blessing. The important thing is not to do something rash and scrap months and months of work just because you can’t see the way out there and then.
I agree with Rosalyn Story. In fact, before I even reached her segment of the post, I was already thinking of all the fabulously creative and successful people that experience great anxiety before performing – throwing up, the works! LOL
Really enjoyed this piece!
Thank you, Carlene, for some excellent advice on a condition all of us have at one time or another. Setting achievable goals, like 1,000 words a day, is a sound tip for that old-fashioned writer’s block.
Patti
I’m really glad to see that everyone is doing WHAT WORKS FOR THEM. That’s the best advice I know. Find what helps you and do that.
Thanks Carleen,
I so need to hear all this advice as I struggle with writing the second novel, just hearing that other writers experience doubt and struggle through it make me feel better and more capable of finishing.
karen
Great post and advice. I have worked most of my adult life as a journalist. As an aspiring novelist, I know I have the writing chops so when doubt embraces me and will not let go, I seek affirmation from my “amen corner” for the muscle needed to kick Miss Doubt to the curb.
This usually means sending friends and associates pages to read. (This requires me to write them first!)Their feedback, always constructive, empowers me. This process can be time-consuming. But it works.
We will always be doubts about our ability to succeed, there is a saying that says that success is to jump from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm
Carleen,
This was very helpful to me. My spouse and I own our own communications business. The work has remained steady over the past three years since we began working together. However, lately, I have found myself so focused on the next six months and the doubt that new work will come that I am not present in the now with my existing clients, children, partner and wife. I related to your posting but any other thoughts of wisdom you can share?
Richard
Great advice. I’ve definitely found that it helps to write in small chunks. I now write in scenes and not in chapters anymore, it is much more manageable.
Great advice. I’ve definitely found that it helps to write in small chunks. I now write in scenes and not in chapters anymore, it is much more manageable.
New subscriber and this post, which has been in my email box a few days, is timely for me to read today as I slunked away from the blank page filled with dread and panic.
Thanks all for putting your strategies for coping with doubt out there. I am recharged.
I will own that blank page and the one after it Today.
This is such a great post. I don’t feel like this subject gets covered nearly enough, but it’s something pre-publication writers (like myself) deal with almost every time they sit down to the computer. Thank you for the great advice! Can’t wait to start implementing it!
[…] Writing through it […]
[…] this time I switched my focus a little, and went on Weight Watchers. I kept writing. In fact, after blogging a few times about writing through doubt, I got a deal with Agate Publishing to write a book on the subject. (Working title: The Not So […]