Doubts have come calling again. Do you ever hear them? Doubts of my ability as a writer, both while I’m planning, while I’m writing, and while I’m reading what I’ve written. Can I really do this? Why am I doing this? Why doesn’t what I produce match my standards?
Why doesn’t what I produce always match my standards?
Does what you produce live up to your standards?
Sometimes while I watch movies, I critique the writing. (I know; I’m the only one. *smile*) But I’m not an experienced screenwriter and who’s to say I could do any better? They say it takes ten years to become a proficient/capable screenwriter. My point? My standards are high. Really high. I’m guessing yours are too. But when it comes to screenplays my abilities don’t match my standards. At this moment, I don’t have a better, less cheesy product than the movies I’m describing.
We want to write a “heartbreaking work of staggering genius,” according to the Snowflake guy (Randy Ingermanson), right? But is that what we’re doing? Are we writing as profoundly, as genuinely, as evocatively as we’d like? Can we?
Enter the doubts.
So, how do we overcome?
The answer will not surprise you. You’ve heard it. You know it. And if you’re committed to reading posts like this, you’re doing it. WRITE.
Write until you close the gap from here (Doubtville) to there—where your product matches your standard. You’ve been around long enough to know what good writing looks like. Now, the trick is to write it, put your name on it. So, keep studying the craft. Keep writing. Don’t give up.
Watch this helpful clip from a four-part interview with award-winning radio personality Ira Glass. Be encouraged! And write!
Write on! ~ Annette
