We all know that if we pursue anything in life, fear comes along with us. Especially when we start any creative endeavor. Fear is what keeps us from going after what we want, and it's our job to keep pursuing our dreams in spite of it. I can talk about all the fears I've had and symptoms of those fears for days, so I'm labeling this post as the first of probably many.
Recently, I took one of Alessandra Torre's free classes and it gave me the answer I needed to the fear I was having in that moment.
Now, if you don't know who Alessandra Torre is, where have you been? I'm just kidding. But she is a fantastic romance and thriller author who also runs Alessandra Torre Ink & InkersCon. It's a fantastic resource for authors so go check it out and join her Facebook group. You won't regret it.
So, I've learned that I have had different fears at different stages in the writing journey. Mostly, I know what they are and can continue on my work because I know my brain is lying to me. I can deal with the fear if I can name it, and replace the lies with some truths.
After I wrote my first draft of my current WIP, editing was so scary, and I was terrified to read what I had written. Fixing it seemed impossible because I knew it needed a lot of work. Facing my manuscript was the biggest fear I'd had to date. I didn't know why I couldn't sit down and read what I had wrote.
During Alessandra's free class she mentioned that we have read fantastic books. We know what a great book is, and what we envision for our own. But when we are writing our first books, our skill level just won't be there yet. The book in our minds, comes out as sub par on paper.
Her saying those words, gave me a light bulb moment. I knew that's why I was scared of my book. I was scared I didn't have the skills to produce what I had envisioned in my mind. I wanted to be able to do my story justice. Once I knew this, I was able to face the manuscript and read it like I would as a reader, and not an author. Reading it without judgement of myself, and to just enjoy the story.
Hearing Alessandra say that, my brain flipped a switch, I gave myself some grace, and said, "I will write this to the best of my ability and I can make it MY best. Sure it won't be like my favorite authors books, but it will be my best writing, and I will get better." Now I am able to face my book everyday and make it better.
Alessandra, if you ever see this, thank you. Thank you for all you do for the writing community. You are a bright light in all the chaos.
Have you had this fear? Or what fear are you dealing with at the moment? Let me know in the comments.
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