Doubts about Writing
Maybe those voices visited you once again today. You know what I’m talking about, those nagging voices whispering to you that you’re wasting your time writing.
They ask you what you really have to write about that’s so important, that anyone will want to read. That book you’ve been writing or have spent so long thinking about writing just isn’t worth a box of rocks.
Of course, these voices are your own thoughts. They nag at you from time to time, if not endlessly. They visit you at 4 a.m., snapping you awake from a bad dream. They suddenly enter your thoughts, when you’re otherwise in a pretty damn good mood, while you sip coffee at your favorite cafe. They follow you from work as your driving home after a bad day. Sure they do. And why not? No one said you had to write a book. No one forces you to go to the computer and begin banging out stories.
You really think you have something to say? Fine. Don’t waste your time telling the world. Look at the time you’re wasting, the voices remind you. Where’s the payoff?
We’ve all heard these voices. They nag at us, pull us down to the very depths of doubt and negativity. If we heed them, they can prevent us from ever writing those books we’ve long wanted to get out.
No one needs the negativity, the dark despair of pessimism. But it surrounds us all. It’s normal. The best one can do is ignore those voices, which are really the naysayers out there wondering why you’re putting time into something like writing a book. And they’re out there all right – in spades – those folks who suggest your time would be better spent selling real estate or taking up a nice hobby, like collecting stamps or skydiving.
Don’t listen to the doubters, the people who want to pull you down. Maybe the world doesn’t need another book. Perhaps there are more than enough authors out there. Never mind that there certainly exist more lucrative ways to spend one’s time. Sure, it’s quite likely that first book you write won’t make enough money to pay off your mortgage.
But you certainly have as much right as anyone to write a book. Who says the best-selling authors are the only ones who have anything important to say? If writing a book is something you really want to do, go for it man, but don’t go at it half-hearted. Do it with passion, do it with joy, do it with a fire that is fueled from starting something you’ve long wanted to happen, that you know you have to do.
Otherwise, the voices, the naysayers, the doubters are right. You have no business writing a book. For if you don’t do it with passion, with joy and with a commitment, it likely won’t be worth anyone’s time, let alone your own.
Maybe those voices visited you once again today. You know what I’m talking about, those nagging voices whispering to you that you’re wasting your time writing.
They ask you what you really have to write about that’s so important, that anyone will want to read. That book you’ve been writing or have spent so long thinking about writing just isn’t worth a box of rocks.
Of course, these voices are your own thoughts. They nag at you from time to time, if not endlessly. They visit you at 4 a.m., snapping you awake from a bad dream. They suddenly enter your thoughts, when you’re otherwise in a pretty damn good mood, while you sip coffee at your favorite cafe. They follow you from work as your driving home after a bad day. Sure they do. And why not? No one said you had to write a book. No one forces you to go to the computer and begin banging out stories.
You really think you have something to say? Fine. Don’t waste your time telling the world. Look at the time you’re wasting, the voices remind you. Where’s the payoff?
We’ve all heard these voices. They nag at us, pull us down to the very depths of doubt and negativity. If we heed them, they can prevent us from ever writing those books we’ve long wanted to get out.
No one needs the negativity, the dark despair of pessimism. But it surrounds us all. It’s normal. The best one can do is ignore those voices, which are really the naysayers out there wondering why you’re putting time into something like writing a book. And they’re out there all right – in spades – those folks who suggest your time would be better spent selling real estate or taking up a nice hobby, like collecting stamps or skydiving.
Don’t listen to the doubters, the people who want to pull you down. Maybe the world doesn’t need another book. Perhaps there are more than enough authors out there. Never mind that there certainly exist more lucrative ways to spend one’s time. Sure, it’s quite likely that first book you write won’t make enough money to pay off your mortgage.
But you certainly have as much right as anyone to write a book. Who says the best-selling authors are the only ones who have anything important to say? If writing a book is something you really want to do, go for it man, but don’t go at it halfhearted. Do it with passion, do it with joy, do it with a fire that is fueled from starting something you’ve long wanted to happen, that you know you have to do.
Otherwise, the voices, the naysayers, the doubters are right. You have no business writing a book. For if you don’t do it with passion, with joy and with a commitment, it likely won’t be worth anyone’s time, let alone your own.
Are you interested in publishing a book? Ask for Mike Reuther’s free ebook, How to Write a Book Without Going Crazy. Mike is an awarding journalist with an M.A. and nearly two dozen published books. He can be reached at mreuther@windstream.net.
