Self Doubts As A Writer

Hey guys, this is Abi here,
And since most of my time goes into writing, I thought I'd do a post on doubts you have as a writer, because we are naturally a bunch of introverts, and we put way too much pressure on ourselves.
And if not, lucky you! You are in the minority though.
And it doesn't matter if you think these thoughts when you're writing the outline, the actual book, or when you're trying to sell itt to strangers, you will have these doubts at some points.
And to stop you writers that read this post from crumbling into a pit of despair, I thought I'd answer these doubts with an answer or a funny comment.
Enjoy!

Doubts As A Writer

Whilst you're writing a book, self doubt is a thing. And it doesn't just happen once. It's like a constant thing. You don't just think it one time, you have to battle it for most of the process (outline, writing, editing etc). 

But one thing that kind of stops self doubt is knowing that you're not the only one going through this. Everybody goes through it. 

So today I will be going through the most common self doubt that most writers have thought (or at least I have). 

I don't know any other writers.

So these are the most common thoughts that I've at least thought.

Doubts Every Writer Has

1. Is my writing good enough?

Truthfully, I don't know. But what I do know is that, even if you think your writing is a pile of ****, YOU SHOULD NOT DELETE IT. Here's what you do: just keep writing. You can come back to it in editing. You shouldn't just delete it, unless you feel like you don't need it. 

Now, for the actual question. It may not be good enough now, but practise makes perfect, and eventually, you will get better. Just keep writing, and one day, you'll think of something better.  

2. It this pointless?

Again, I don't know. If you enjoy writing, then, no. It's as simple as that. 

Those questions are basically the only doubts you can get as a writer, but those thoughts also don't go away, throughout the entire process (I'm only on the outline and I've had those doubts the entire time). Now here are some ways to ways to overcome that!

How To Handle Self Doubt

Understand that it's normal. 
Every writer, artist or performer have these doubts. Your not the only one. You've just got to deal with it. Your going to question something that you've made yourself based on your own skill. It's normal. Just relax, your not alone, even if it may feel like it.

Stop reading your manuscript
If you read your manuscript when you're doubting yourself, it's going to suffer.
Just think about it. Your getting yourself all warped, thinking your book is awful. You re-read a paragraph, and you end up deleting it. Don't, under any circumstances, delete it. Ever. Because you might end up regretting it. Also, what did your book do to you?
Exactly. So, stop re-reading your manuscript.

Remember that writing is hard. 
Remember that writing is hard. It's going to challenge you, test you, pretty much every single day. Writing a book has to be hard, because otherwise everybody would have a book out. But other people have done it, and they felt the doubts too. But they just kept writing, and they didn't give up. So try not to.

Take a step back if you have to. 
I try not to do this to often, because if I did this every time I doubted myself as a writer, then I'd never get anything done. But if you need to, just drag your mind away from your manuscript for a time. It might be an afternoon, or a week, but if you want it enough, you should come back to the book eventually. If you want it published, you have to be committed.


Summing it all up, every writer experiences this at some point, but it's often something you have to put up with constantly. Just know that everyone goes through this, and your not alone, as much as it might seem like it. Also, just keep writing. Odds are, it's not as bad as you think.

So that is my post on "Doubts As A Writer"! I hope you enjoyed it, and learnt something from it. I apologise if it seemed kind of all over the place (see, even I have doubts!).
But I will see you all tomorrow, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!
Byeeee!

-Abi xxxxxx