Like many others, I belong to a several email writing loops. Some members seem to have a healthy respect for their writing.
But recently, a member of one of those loops made the shocking announcement, “I suck as a writer.”
Excuse me!
Normally I would have ignored it, but it didn’t end there. Before long almost everyone had climbed aboard the bandwagon and was saying the same thing—about themselves.
I couldn’t let their comments pass. Didn’t they realise what they were doing to themselves? Their writing? Didn’t they know that what they put out there stays out there. I had to nip it in the bud.
Actors, artists, writers—everyone in the entertainment industry suffers from some kind of need for acceptance.
But here’s the rub. If you are unpublished, and you have that belief about your writing, then you are likely you remain so. If you have had some success at getting published but seem stuck in the same place, you’ll likely stay stuck.
If that is your belief, then perhaps you had better get out of the writing game and find another dream. Why would anyone put themselves through all kinds of torture just to berate their own work?
Whether you believe in the Law of Attraction or not, it is constantly working to obey your commands. No question. If you say your writing sucks, then the Law will move heaven and earth to prove it to you.
No one writes a perfect first draft, not even the great divas. They’ve all been where you are now.
Don’t you think it’s time to change the tired old record?
You do NOT suck. Your writing does NOT suck.
And I’ll say to you what I said to them: Before you go to sleep at night, and first thing when you wake up in the morning, even throughout the day when your feeling a little low, say three times, “I am a wonderful writer”, or “I am a great writer,” or any similar affirmation.
Try it for 30 days and just see what happens to your writing.
Yes, affirmations do work.
Jean
6 comments:
What a great post Jean. I think we all said it at one time or another after a rejection or a lousy contest or a nasty critique. The important thing is to get ourself back in hand, turn our back to negativity and improve our writing. Success is never handed on a silver platter. Success is 50% work and 50% perseverance, sprinkled with a little bit of luck.
Jean,
Really important points you made! It's great that you are focused upon not just the words written, but the words spoken. Who would put up with a best friend who called you names and put you down? So then why would someone say these things to themselves? It's important to pay attention to the voice in your head; and if you hear it being negative, gently correct it- as you wrote. We have to believe in ourselves before anyone else will believe in us.
I write about these subjects on my website:LiandaLudwig.com. Come visit!
Jean, Thank you for the affirmation reminder.
I think of negativity like an annoying bug. It jumps from one person to the next to cause ill will and then continues to grow and multiply and spread. Yuk!
A positve attitude is so very important. A positive attitude can reverse the negative. A positive attitude will help us become better writers. :)
Yes, it is hard to overcome the negativity when you get a bad review, don't final in a contest or get ragged on for your work. I think it's okay to wallow for a little while, but then it's time to pull up your bootstraps and get back to work. I have the best support system in the world and they never let me feel down for long. I think feeling bad when you get gut punched is a natural reaction. It's what you do afterwards that counts. I love the writing world and all that goes with it but admit to wallowing every now and then. I always come back stronger and push harder. :)
Excellent post. Everyone may get down after a rejection, or a harsh critique, but certainly a positive attitude is the only way to keep going.
Positive thinking, Jean, is always a good mantra to follow. Most of us have experienced discouragement and rejection along the way. But, in order to succeed, we must keep trying.
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