Cara Lockwood is the USA Today bestselling author of nine novels, including I Do (But I Don’t), which was made into
a Lifetime Original Movie starring Denise Richards and Dean Cain. Her books
have been translated into several languages and are sold all around the world.
She’s written in many genres and also created the Bard Academy series for young
adults. Recently, she’s begun offering freelance editing through www.edit-my-novel.com, which is an
official sponsor of National Novel Writing Month (http://www.nanowrimo.org/).
You can also read more about her work at www.caralockwood.com
or www.bardacademy.com.
The worst demon a
writer will ever face is his or her own critical eye.
Every writer I’ve ever
known has at some point or another had a crisis of confidence. Anxiety and
insecurity are truly at the heart of nearly all kinds of writer’s block.
In a bout of
self-loathing, Stephen King famously threw away Carrie in disgust. His wife saved the bestseller from the garbage
by digging it out, reading it, and declaring it worth saving.
So, how do you move
past confidence-killing insecurity if you don’t
happen to be married to Stephen King’s wife?
I’ve got a few ideas. I’m
no stranger to writing anxiety. I’ve published nine novels, and yet, there are
times even now, when I look at a rough draft and want to hit “delete.”
For the thousands of
you participating in National Novel Writing Month this month, how do you get
over the biggest hurdle of all – when you hate what you write?
Here are some
suggestions:
Don’t
throw your manuscript away. Just put it away for a couple of days.
If you’re at the point
where you want to give up, just take a break for a while. We all have good writing
days and bad writing days and you don’t want to trash everything on a day that
you just happen to be feeling down. Give yourself some room to get perspective.
Get
feedback from an experienced editor.
Writing is a solitary
pursuit and sometimes you can easily lose perspective on your own work.
Enlisting an experienced editor cannot only help you break through writer’s
block, but it can also take your novel to the next level. I’ve been really
blessed in having great editors in my career, and I really think they have made
the difference for me with several novels I had thought couldn’t be saved.
It’s a big reason why I
do freelance editing work. I’m hoping to help others as my editors have helped
me.
An editor can also help
you find a new path forward. Maybe some small changes (adding or subtracting a
character or changing a scene) can breathe new life in your novel.
Join
a writing group.
Now that we have a
thriving online writing community, it’s easier than ever to find other writers
like yourself. A writing group is invaluable for getting honest and constructive
feedback and bonding with other writers who understand your pain. Sometimes, just
having the opportunity to vent your frustration can help you find the
confidence you need to get back to writing.
Tell
your critical inner-editor to take a break.
Sometimes, you have to
tell your inner critic to be quiet in order to push through and finish. Think
of that inner voice like a heckler at a play. Tell him to sit down for the
second half. Even a truly bad manuscript can be improved with editing, but if
you don’t have any words on a page, you can’t edit them and make them better.
I’ve finished my share of truly awful first drafts. But, that’s why we call
them drafts. They’re not supposed to
be perfect. They are drafts and should be refined and edited and improved.
Read
a book that will inspire you.
Go back to one of your
favorite authors and read or reread a book that might be similar to the novel
you’re writing. Sometimes, you can find inspiration in reading. I still learn
new things about writing from other authors, and sometimes, when I’m really
feeling stuck, I’ll read one of my favorite authors who will inspire me to jump
into writing again.
Find
a writing cheerleader.
Before I wrote my first
novel, I Do (But I Don’t), I started
and stopped a half a dozen manuscripts. I would start a novel, then I’d put it
down for a while, and later when I picked it up again, I was usually so
discouraged by what I’d written that I’d just give up on that project .
Finally, when I began writing, I Do (But
I Don’t), a romantic comedy about a divorced wedding planner, I enlisted
the help of one of my avid reader friends to help me get through my rough
patches.
I asked her to be my
“writing cheerleader” and help me stay on course. She was a great writing
partner. Every week, she’d read the pages I wrote, and then she’d continue to
bug me until I got her the next chapter. It was just the inspiration I needed
to keep going.
Remember
that every writer, no matter how experienced or successful, feels like you do
at some point.
Sudden loss of
confidence happens to every writer.
I’ve never met a single writer who could honestly tell me they didn’t feel at
some point that they should give up on a manuscript or on their whole careers.
The difference between the published writers I know and some of the unpublished
ones is that the professional writers found a way to keep writing. They didn’t
give up. If you truly believe writing is your calling, find a way to keep going.
Questions? Comments?
Email cara@caralockwood.com.
6 comments:
This is a very good article, because sometimes it can feel like you're the only one with insecurities. The published piece never reflects the process: wine, music, write, revise.
Well, that might just be my process, and sometimes a play around with the order.
I put 'a' instead of 'I' in there, so you can flex your editing muscles.
Christine, we've all been there. No worries. And yes, it is a good article.
I bookmarked her editing service and enjoyed this article. I needed to read it right now. :D X
A good article indeed. This is a struggle for many of us. And I would dare say one of the problems with NaNoWriMo. I think writers tend to get so locked on getting their "daily numbers" that they don't allow themselves the time to take a break from it that Cara mentions. For me, whenever I got my manuscript back from my agent with the comments "still not done," I often had to take more than just a few days away from it.
And an experienced editor (emphasis on "experienced" as opposed to "beta reader") is invaluable.
Paul D. Dail
www.pauldail.com- A horror writer's not necessarily horrific blog
I'm a fan of information and try to share what I can with my readers. I am working on a novel right now. I have started them in the past, but never finished. Of course, that was years ago. I've been focusing on short fiction for a long time now and think I need to branch out a bit. ;)
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