10.1: When you Start to Feel Dejected and Unsatisfied with your Work
You may reach a point in your book where you lose faith in what you are doing. Sometimes you read through what you have written so far and feel that it isn't good enough and that it's never going to be good enough. You've reworked the same passages time and time again and they still don't please you. You may have even started to resent your beloved characters that you created with such care.
You can be comforted by the fact that these feelings affect many authors. After the initial excitement of dreaming up all the different elements and writing the first exciting pages, you are now stuck bang in the middle and you're worried about where your novel is going. It's natural to feel like this as once all the exciting stuff is done it's time for the real slog to begin; the real writing. People think of writing as enjoyable, as a hobby. And it is enjoyable, just not all the time.
Rejection is the bigger killer of confidence.
rejected again anyway.
The loss of confidence is most usually down to ourselves.
We tell ourselves over and over again that we're not good enough; we compare ourselves to writers totally out of our league like J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin. We talk ourselves out of finishing our novel because it's never going to be good enough anyway. Do these thoughts and feelings sound familiar? Is it a relief to know that you're not the only one to feel this way?
FACT
Don't be too pessimistic - agents reject 96% of author submissions
Source: huffingtonpost.com - 2013
10.2: Why are you Writing a Fantasy Novel?
Sometimes it's useful to take a step back and think about why you embarked on this project to start with. You are likely a big fan of the fantasy genre already and were inspired enough by some of your fantasy heroes to start writing your own book. You have probably enjoyed writing in the past but decided to take it a step further this time and write an entire novel. You probably thought it would be awesome to create a new land, strange creatures and a magical system. But now you have got past that fun part and your job is to focus on writing and rewriting and rewriting again, things are considerably less fun. You need to ask yourself whether you are writing purely for pleasure or if you realistically hope to get published. If you are just writing because you enjoy it then ease off the pressure you are putting on yourself. Write the bits you enjoy writing and focus on these parts. Think about why you enjoy writing and why you started writing in the first place. If you are a more serious writer then think about why you decided to try and make it your career. You must have had passion when you started and you need to try and get this passion back.
10.3: Finish what you Started
Every aspiring, as well as accomplished novelist must have a drawer somewhere filled with half-written novels.Starting a novel is so much more appealing than finishing one and it's easy to rack up several unfinished novels than one finished one. Unfortunately no publishing company is going to accept an unfinished novel, no matter how good it is. Part of the dejection you are feeling and loss of confidence you are experiencing is probably just down to being daunted at the task in hand, and being lazy to just sit, think, and write some more.
Writing a novel is not easy and there will be many times where you stare at a blank screen for minutes or hours not knowing where to go next. The important thing is to realise this and realise that you are not alone. There are plenty of ways to get your motivation and confidence back on track in no time which we will cover later. Procrastination is something that writers are excellent at. If there's anything at all worth doing or not worth doing, it will be considerably more appealing than continuing to write. Whether it's taking a shower, cutting the grass, making a snack, putting up a picture, or just simply sitting and day dreaming, there are many many things you can think of doing before settling down to write.
The bottom line is that you have to make yourself sit at the keyboard and start typing. You may have to dedicate a certain time each day where you force yourself to sit and write. Forming a routine is useful as once it becomes a habit you will automatically sit down to write at a certain time every day. It's similar to when you start going to the gym. First of all you think up every excuse not to go, but eventually it becomes a habit and becomes something you do automatically without thinking about it.
10.4: Motivation and Dedication
These are two qualities that are extremely important for writers to have. Writing is a career where you often don't have a boss or any deadlines (unless you already have a publisher who you have signed a contract with for your next book). But how wonderful not to have anyone to report in to, not to have anyone sniffing around and checking up on what time you got to work, how productive you are being, how long you took for lunch etc.! Unfortunately the other side of this is that you need to motivate yourself entirely. This proves to be really difficult for many people which is why it's important to get into a routine as mentioned above.
Just because you have no big scary manager setting you deadlines that you're scared not to meet, it doesn't mean you can't set your own deadlines or goals. A great way to motivate yourself is to write down a list of what you want to achieve and when you want to achieve it by. It could be that you want to complete each chapter by a certain time, or it could just be the number of words you want to write on a weekly basis. Having specific goals in place gives you focus and a purpose to write every day. Otherwise what is stopping you from taking days or maybe weeks off?
Your novel will soon grow stale in your mind and maybe you'll start thinking about a new one instead. By making yourself write every day, even if it is not always directly working on your novel, you will gain a sense that you are achieving something. You will get satisfaction out of what you have achieved and feel productive. Giving yourself little rewards for reaching goals will also improve your motivation. For instance, if you write for two hours you can have a cup of coffee and a cake; if you achieve your projected word count for the week you can go out and buy yourself that new fantasy book that you've had your eye on.
10.5: Sometimes you need to take a Break
As a writer it's important that you don't get bogged down with your fantasy novel to the extreme that your work is suffering because of it. Sometimes it pays to take a break from your book in order to regain some perspective on it. Your writing may be growing tired and you may have lost sight of what you are trying to achieve or where your plot is going. This just goes towards losing confidence in both your book and your ability as a writer, so it's important to sometimes take a few days off and direct your energy elsewhere.
Even when you decide to take a short break from writing your book, you should still continue to write. Try writing something completely different like a poem or a letter to someone. Try building up your writing skills by trying different short story exercises or practising to write dialogues. Do something that you find fun writing-wise in order to get your spark and passion back. There are plenty of examples of fun exercises to try coming up in a later module.
When you go back to your book you should feel refreshed and excited to get back into it. Re-read your character profiles, what you designed about your new world, and your plot outline. Having everything clear in your mind can remind you of elements you may have forgotten and renew your excitement and confidence in your story and your characters.But what if you are completely stuck?
QUOUTE
"I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better" A.J. Liebling
Writer's block is something that affects even the most experienced novel writers. You just can't make the connection between the keyboard and your fingers. Nothing happens. You have no inspiration. You are stuck, completely stuck. Well there are plenty of things to try to become unstuck. First try and pinpoint the problem so that you face it head on. You may just think you are stuck but there is probably a specific issue. Is it a particular character bothering you? Or is something not quite right with the magic system you have invented? Is your clever plot twist not as clever as you originally thought?
Once you have isolated the problem, it's much easier to go about fixing it. Think about it in your daily life, while you are driving, eating, sleeping. Eventually you will hit on an idea that might just work. Then another one. Write them all down and try them out when you next sit down to write to see if they solve your problem.You can also speak to a friend or your writing mentor about your problem and see if they have any ideas about how to solve it. Often getting a second perspective is really valuable as someone else will be able to see things differently and approach a problem differently. However, don't end up talking too much to everyone about your novel and your characters and your plot, as when you discuss it too much you can sometimes lose the oomph you need to get all your creative ideas down on paper. You spend your energy telling your story instead of using it to write. Limit conversations to specific problems you are having.
As discussed before, sometimes all you need to solve a particular problem is a bit of time out. Focus on a different part of your novel or write something else completely for a while.
10.6: Regaining Lost Confidence
Sometimes you need to give yourself a pep talk and make yourself believe in yourself. Remind yourself about all the good criticism you have received in the past and instead of dwelling on the bad criticism and becoming down-hearted by it. View negative feedback you have received as beneficial and something that can really improve your writing and propel your novel forwards.
After all what is more satisfying than proving to someone that doubted you that you can do it after all? Tell yourself that you have talent, believe in your story and your characters. Understand that writing a novel is a difficult and lengthy process and just to have gotten this far is a major achievement.
Module Summary
Lessons Learned
All writers struggle with loss of confidence and a sense of direction at some points during writing a novel. The way you deal with these feelings will in the end, result in either completing your novel, or it just ending up as another half-finished book stored away somewhere usually never to be continued. Which outcome would you prefer?
Applying yourself, motivating yourself and having dedication to write every day is not easy, but the end result is that you will have the finished novel that you dreamt of. In the meantime, take time out if you need it, talk over your problems with other authors, and don't lose your vision about what you are trying to achieve.
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