What I've Been Reading: Writer's Doubt

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So I took a little detour with my reading this month. I've been doing a lot of nonfiction reading lately. One day my sis, Dani Wade, sent me a text: "Go get this book!" The book? Writer's Doubt: The #1 Enemy of Writing (and What You Can Do About It) by Bryan Hutchinson. And you know what? She was 100% right.

I've been talking a little bit more openly about the struggles I've had with writer's block. I think the prevalence of so many writers who poo-poo the idea of writer's block only serves to make those of us who have experienced doubt ourselves more. And that doubt only serves to compound the probem. We who struggle in this area have to learn not only to tune out the naysayers and root out the sources of our blocks, but we also have to combat the doubt that can creep in.

Writer's Doubt begins with Bryan's story of how he came to be a writer. One of the things I love is that Bryan says something in the beginning of the book that I've come to realize myself over time:

...if we keep our stories, our feelings and our experiences hidden inside of us, it is much more difficult to heal and find answers. So many people remain secretive, so secretive that they’re never able to actually seek help for their internal conflicts. If you want to be honest with your readers and yourself, put everything on the page and leave your comfort zone behind.

Now, this is probably targeted toward nonfiction writers, but as a romance writer, I've found that a lot of the emotions I've experienced over time tend to come out on the page. Not as exact experiences, and not as a one-to-one translation, but they do come out. Take Me began with the idea of a mother who lost her child. I also lost a child, not the way Peyton did -- her child was kidnapped; mine died -- but I found myself thinking of those emotions, drawing them out like you would draw out poison, as I put words to the page. Facing our past helps us heal, and writing can help us do that, whatever form it takes.

Of course, the book isn't just about emotions and memories. It's full of tons of practical advice. Ways to write when you're blocked (notebooks, journals, nonwriting options), where to write. The section on writing rituals and getting into the writing zone reminded me I'd sort of abandoned that part of my early writing career when I got bogged down in a year's worth of edits. Practical advice on not only writing but publishing what you write. There is a lot of meat here, not just fluff.

My favorite piece of advice?

Your first draft is not crap no matter how far from perfect it might be.

There really is a ton of great things not just to learn but to really think about as you read this book. I'm not going to tell you any more. You need to go get it and learn for yourself, explore for yourself, consider things you never really considered about yourself. You'll come out the other side with a whole new outlook. :)

~ Ella

NaNoWriMo Naughty Girl Style!

I'm just everywhere lately, aren't I? :) I'm talking on the Nice Girls Writing Naughty blog today about NaNoWriMo and how to use conflict to further your story. Check it out: #NaNoWriMo Naughty Style: Day Two!

Must-Read Advice for Writers

21 Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Writing: Must-Read Advice for Writers at All Levels By Robin Black

This article appeared on The Review Review website -- and my Facebook feed -- last week. After a particularly long and work-heavy month, I was taking a morning of downtime and actually managed to read an article I'm interested in. Yay! I found Black tips encouraging at a time when I'm struggling to handle my workload, deal with medical issues, and still manage to be enthusiastic about revisions on my current novella. It's not easy. But the validation of seeing some of the things I'm trying to tell myself reiterated from an experienced author helped me see that I am on the right path. I'm not delusional. This really is how I should see the world. And yes, "it will get better" is just as much a fact as "the downtimes will come again." Everything has its season; isn't that what Solomon said? :) Here are a couple of the tips I found particularly helpful:

" The best you can do is the best you can do. There’s a fine line between learning from other authors, and trying to be them. Be yourself. There are more than enough different types of readers out there for us all. I can’t tell you how much time I have wasted wishing my work were more 'hip'  and 'edgier.' And every single moment was indeed a waste of time. I didn’t even like much of the writing I wanted to emulate. I just liked the attention heaped on the people who wrote it. Write the book you’d most like to read – not the one you think will win over the editor du jour."

How often I have done this! I have lamented not being as good as so-and-so. I've lamented not being able to get my work in front of some big-time agent or editor. I've worried and wondered and agonized over the quality of my work -- and not believed my wonderful editor and critique partners and readers when they say they love it. It's got to stop! Can I doubt? Yes. Can I do it for more than a few seconds? No. As my daughter is fond of saying, "Ain't nobody got time for that."

"You cannot write the pages you love without writing the pages you hate. Nothing that you write is pointless, useless, or unnecessary. The product requires the process. The good days may be more enjoyable, but the tough ones are the ones they’re built upon."

Amen! Telling myself this was the only thing that got me through a period of severe writer's block (and yes, it does exist -- denying it doesn't make it so) over the last six months. I spent so much time agonizing over every word that I trained myself to have panic attacks when I sat at the computer to write. It has taken a lot of time, effort, and patience with myself to come out the other side, and still my confidence is more shattered than intact. That's okay. I'll get there. But it means going through the bad days as well as the good days -- and not being afraid to do so.

The final piece of advice speaks for itself, in my opinion. And, honestly, doesn't just apply to writing. Think about it.

"Don’t believe there are rules. There is only advice. There is only opinion. There are only my experiences and yours and yours and yours. . ."

Check out the full article and all of Black's tips here.

~ Ella

*Photo courtesy of AnimaTigris.