Fear is described as an emotion induced by a perceived threat that causes animals to move quickly away from the location of the perceived threat, and sometimes hide.
My dreams of being the “Next Harry Potter” were quickly dashed when I got my first rejection letter. It was brief, it was vague, and it wasn’t so much “no”, as “It’s just not for me.” This was a very acceptable response and kind words from a very busy literary agent. It wasn’t the end of the world, and besides, I had several other “hooks” in the water, so we’ll see what happens. Slowly, the rejections came to my inbox. One can’t help but feel discouraged, and then the self-doubt gently crept in.
As a writer, my perceived threat is SELF-DOUBT; although, “lack of time” can be a pretty strong opponent. Self-Doubt is the fear that I let take over. Most stop writing. Most give up. Most move quickly away from the threat. We have by now established, I’m possibly insane from voices in my head, and have already used the phrase “addicted,” so quitting was not an option. So, I resolved to write for myself. I repeated my fluffy affirmations and I continued to write. I wish I could remember where I read this, but one writer said, “If what you wrote isn’t being picked up, write something else.” So I did just that. I sat down, and began my SECOND novel.
BUT… the self-doubt and fear had not been defeated. Instead of moving away from the threat of writing, I hid my writing. While I wrote for myself, I no longer shared what I was doing. Writing became a secret. I no longer told anyone about my newly found passion and obsession. I no longer talked about my characters or my stories. I kept these secret worlds to myself. I think this has been a critical misstep in my road to publishing success.
Four years later, I am now “going public.” I no longer doubt my writing. And I’ve tried to avoid this cliché but it just keeps screaming. So, if I share, maybe it will shut up! (Not really, because it is kind of profound)
“The only difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is that they remain patient with disregard to their slow progress and continue to be persistent even if they can’t see any results.”
Simply put…DON’T GIVE UP!
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