Jennifer Wilson's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"

Ah the dreaded writer’s doubt. Every writer would love to say that he or she is above it, that there was never a doubt in his or her mind about their book, their writing or their characters, but that would be a lie. It seems it is in our human nature to have moments of doubt. There are always the dreaded moments when an agent whispers no in your ear or a reader blasts that he hated your book online. Those minuscule moments in time are all it takes for that tiny seed of doubt to take root. So how do we overcome those thoughts of self-doubt, those moments that make you want to give up and condemn your literary works to the digital bookshelf of shame?

While it is easy to fall into that self-pitying sea of doubt, your confidence in your own book is your best advocate. No one will ever be as loving or as passionate about your book as you are. Readers can fall in love with your characters, hate your villains and dream of being a part of your manifested worlds, but ultimately it was your passion, your need to feed your own soul that brought that literary world to life. If you don’t love your characters, why should anyone else?

Even though all writers should pour their hearts and souls into their works, it is also important to be able to detach yourself a little bit. The market can be fickle thing and not everyone is going to like your work and that’s okay. Don’t take it personally. Agents are often looking for the next trend and just because your book doesn’t fit into that category doesn’t make you a bad writer. Horror books have been around long before Edgar Allen Poe, wizards were wielding magic long before Harry Potter and forbidden romances were being read and whispered about long before Fifty Shades of Grey. In short, don’t write to emulate the newest trend, write about what makes you passionate. It doesn’t matter if it’s trendy or not. If you are ardent about what you’re writing, people will read your book. Not because someone in an office told them it was trendy but because their best friend recommended it. Your current work may not be a best seller, but that does not make it a bad book. Not everyone is going to love your book, but many others will.

When it comes to the book world, no doesn’t really mean no anymore. Thanks to the digital world, authors don’t have to give up when agents say no. If you are really passionate about your work, self-publish. Just because ten agents told you no, doesn’t mean hundreds of readers won’t say yes. But remember to listen to your fans. While sometimes brutally honest, their points are often be valid. Take that feedback and use it to grow. The day a writer stops growing is the day he or she should put down the allegorical pen. If you aren’t developing, then your characters aren’t either.

I am not saying it’s easy to have self-confidence at every turn. Like most things in life, writing is a bit of a roller coaster. There will always be highs and lows. The key is to look up in those low moments and remember it’s the only place to go from there. If that is not enough of encouragement for you, take a look at a list some of this last century’s most popular authors. J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, Dan Brown, Dr Seuss, C.S. Lewis, Margaret Mitchell, and Stephen King were all repeatedly rejected before their books exploded onto best sellers list. What if they had just given up?

Doubt is literally betting against yourself. So try and stack the odds in your favor. When in doubt, keep writing. You can only grow with experience, and while you may edit that part out later, or get another rejection letter, at least you’re still wading forward through that dreaded sea of doubt instead of drowning in it.

It is not everyday that you get to create a world from nothing, that you get to let your imaginary wiles run free and the end result is a fictitious world your readers will dream of being a part of. Yet, as said so many times before, with all greatness comes great responsibility. Your characters can make readers fall in love, burn with hate and thrive with hope, but if their setting is not believable all that hard work can fall apart.

The world you create is the foundation for your story, and as when building all things, if the foundation is weak so will be everything else built upon it. Great books are not just about storyline or characters. They are a blissful combination of many things, but it is their world that becomes the glue binding it together.

Every interaction, every character choice and personality trait can be driven by the world you create. Bella and Edward’s romance wouldn’t have been so dreamy in some Midwest cornfield and Harry Potter would have been far less impressive if he never got out from the cupboard under the stairs. Think of your favorite book. When you close your eyes, you can see not only the characters’ faces, but also everything that surrounds them. You can hear what they hear, see what they see, and above all else, you can believe that world exists.

In many cases this means making rules for your world and staying true to them. Either people can fly or they can’t, the sky can be blue or red, weapons can be new age or old school. Just make sure when you create your book’s world, you stay true to your own rules. If you don’t believe certain things could happen, then neither will anyone else. Creating an in-depth world can mean the difference between merely piquing your readers’ interest and drawing them in so deeply that they are standing next to your protagonists as they fight for their lives or fall in love.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Twilight