Handling Self Doubt

Is thinking your work isn’t good self doubt? Or is it recognizing your failings and fixing them? Aka editing

I’ve been editing quite a bit lately, in fact I’ve done about 80 pages in the last few days. I went back to read chapter one of my book and it wasn’t flowing for me. That’s a problem… or is it? Am I being too hard on myself? Am I not in the reading mood? Are the problems I’m seeing really problems, or just me doubting myself?

There’s really no way to be sure when you are in a mood. So I’m forcing myself to sit back and take a break. Not from editing all together, but from looking back at chapter one. Knowing myself, it’s all too possible that I’m just in some mind funk where nothing is good enough. So I’m waiting it out until I’m in a better frame of mind.

So what to do when you are in the crazy brain place where you hate your work…

- First thing you do is come up with specific questions on what you think is wrong with the passage. If you aren’t being nutty about it, the questions will help you revise later.

- Take a break from the part you are disliking—move on to a different part

-Write something new, different than what you are editing or writing before, perhaps you are just bored

- If you are dead set on figuring this out right away (not advisable) go to one of our beta readers and ask them what they think, but be forewarned, you must have specific questions, not just “does this suck?” But more like, does this part flow well, does it match the rest of the story? Is it lacking excitement?

- When you are in a better frame of mind, compare the part in question with a part that you do like, what are the differences?

Just know that it is entirely possible that you are being neurotic about it. We’re writers after all and have characters speaking to us in our heads, being neurotic isn’t too far behind. BUT, it is also possible that you are simply observing your work with a neutral eye… not an easy task. So make your notes, come back when your head is on straight and realize you are a genius, either in waiting it out so you didn’t destroy your work, or having the awareness of self to look upon your work with a discerning, critical eye. Either way you win.