Hi friends,
This blog is a bit of a departure from my usual content. If you’re here for the good ol’ how-to blogs, book reviews, and chapters, this might not be the blog for you. And that’s okay! I’ll see you on Wednesday with more chipper content!
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been struggling with my confidence as a writer. I’m finishing my Nano, I’m polishing off some editing – everything I’m doing feels subpar. I have these little voices in my head that tell me that I’m a talentless hack, or like nothing I’m doing is ever going to be good enough. Worse, I find myself wondering how my sense of ego got to be so inflated that I feel like I have any right to give anyone any sort of advice on how to write. How to tell a good story. How to feel good about the content they’re putting out there.
Even before I started this blog, I worried that I have nothing to share. Or that what I’m offering isn’t new or insightful, or explained in a way that helps people on their own creative journeys.
I feel like it’s important to have these conversations as creatives – as people, really. Our community does a wonderful job of uplifting others and cheering each other on, but still, the feeling persists. Those voices will find a way to shout over everyone else: “you’re not good enough.”
I felt that it’s important to share this unsightly moment because I don’t think that we should feel alone with those feelings – like we are the only people in the world who could possibly feel this way. I see so many people (friends, fellow writers, etc.) who bottle these thoughts and never allow themself the catharsis of getting it out into the world. It’s hard to admit. On some level, maybe even silly. I know I feel like I’m whining, or crapping all over the support I’ve been offered when that damn imposter-gremlin starts to whisper in my ear.
I don’t have any tips or tricks to help with this. Sometimes I just have to sit with it. Acknowledge that it’s an ugly feeling and try to not let it beat me down. Mostly I try to reframe the intrusive thoughts. I know I would never allow someone to think their experiences weren’t valid. Or that their successes weren’t worth celebrating. So what makes me think that I’m so special in being un-special?
I would love to know if you struggle with these feelings to. Whether you’re an artist, an accountant (TikTok variety and otherwise), or a fellow writer.
And if you can, today, pay it forward. Tell someone they are enough. That they’re doing well. That might be exactly what they need to hear today.
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Ivy Whitaker 