There are plenty of obstacles to keep a writer from writing. We make a thousand excuses every day: too little time; too many distractions; a lack of ideas; a demanding day job; kids/housework; no quiet place to write, and so on.
But the biggest obstacle to unleashing creativity is often our own self doubt.
The greater the artist, the greater the doubt. Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.” ― Robert Hughes
We tell ourselves: Who’d want to read anything I wrote, anyway? I’m not remotely qualified to write a ticket, much less a novel. I’ll never get published. I’m wasting paper… and time. My stuff is derivative. Boring. Stupid. There are so many other, better writers out there. Ian McKellan, Sarah Waters, Penelope Lively.
I can’t even hope to compete. Might as well delete these couple of chapters and be done with it. No agent/editor/reader is ever going to want to read them, anyway.
These are the things we tell ourselves. And we believe them.
But they’re lies. They are fictions we make up in our heads when we get scared, or when we venture a little too far outside our comfort zone.
“I don’t believe anyone ever suspects how completely unsure I am of my work and myself and what tortures of self-doubting the doubt of others has always given me.” ― Tennessee Williams
We have to recognize self-doubt for what it is – untruth. Insecurity. And fear – of imperfection, fear of failing. What qualifies someone to write, anyway? A degree from a prestigious university? Aristocratic birth? A writerly-looking suit jacket with suede patches at the elbow?
Nope. A writer is someone with the desire and ability to tell a story. Period.
Of course, that’s not to say that craft isn’t important. It is. But craft can be learned. A true writer is a natural-born storyteller. If you can tell an entertaining story, you can learn the mechanics of how to shape it into a compelling, page-turning read.
If you love doing something, you make the time to do it. As a teenager, Eddie Van Halen practiced his guitar in his bedroom when everyone else was out having a good time. Same for the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl. He stayed in his room and practiced playing the drums on his pillows with a pair of drumsticks… because he really wanted to be a drummer.
You may have to give something up to make it happen. You may have to miss out on an extra hour of sleep, or skip your favorite TV program. But if you truly love what you’re doing, it’s worth the sacrifice.
Don’t have time to write? Get up an hour earlier.
Don’t have any ideas? Buy a small notepad and carry it with you. Make a habit of jotting stuff down – things like bits of overheard conversation. Descriptions. Observations.
Make up a story about the woman who walks her dog every morning or the grumpy guy on the train. Who are they? Maybe her marriage is crumbling. Maybe he’s about to lose his job and suspects his wife is having an affair… with his boss.
Imagine it, and then put it on paper.
You don’t need a MacBook or a library lined with bookshelves or a fancy office wallpapered in Farrow and Ball in order to write. All you need is a notepad and a pen and your imagination, and you’re set. All those other things – a desk, a special writing pen, solitude, etc – are just excuses, ways to keep us from sitting down to write.
Read everything. Newspapers, magazines, books, blogs. Read outside your normal genre. And don’t just read – pay attention to how the writer handled characterization, description, plot. Learn from it. Do the same when you watch a film or television program. How did the filmmaker build suspense, transition a scene, show the main characters’ absolute commitment to each other?
Our doubts are traitors, / and make us lose the good we oft might win,/ by fearing to attempt.
― William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure
But most importantly, don’t give in to the demon of self-doubt. Fight it. Believe in the power of your own creativity, and kick that mouthy little monster to the curb.
And then sit down and start writing.
