Writing and Ignoring Self-Doubt
I’m in the process of editing my forthcoming comic, No Spell Lasts Forever, and it has been quite the emotional ride for me. I feel like it’s a turning point in my writing. There’s so much that I want to learn, but at the same time, I think I feel myself up-leveling.
It’s like all along, I’ve been driving the car of writing, feeling like I have a pretty good handle on how to make it go, but now I’m starting to actually pop the hood. I’m beginning to grasp the mechanics of things like characterization and how it’s intrinsically interconnected with plot in new ways.
I remember hearing Neil Gaiman say in an interview that he had the idea for The Graveyard Book years before he felt like he was prepared as a writer to actually create it. He didn’t attempt it until he had grown into the writer he knew he needed to be to do it justice. I’ve had that feeling about ideas I’ve had, too. And I’m starting to feel now like I’m actually on my way to one day becoming that writer.
This is a huge deal for me as someone who has struggled with self-doubt. For years, I had this narrative in my head telling me there were just certain types of writing I’d never be good at. Of course, there was no real evidence to support that. It was just fear talking. But I feel like I’m finally learning to accept that fear. I haven’t overcome it -- it’s still there. And maybe it will always be there. Maybe having a little bit of self-doubt is just my baseline. But if I can recognize it for what it is and not believe it to be the absolute, objective truth, then I can move forward with my writing despite it.
All that to say, if you’re reading this and you’re not sure if you’re “good enough” to undertake that creative project that’s sitting in the back of your brain, I’d encourage you to jump in. Take a swing. Shoot your shot. I think it’s very common to have some degree of fear, self-doubt, or imposter syndrome. But that negative self-talk doesn’t always tell you the truth, and you literally have nothing to lose by giving it a try.