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One of the hardest things in writing is being honest with yourself and, much more importantly, your writing. The problem is sending your writing out into the world, where the following will judge it: family friends peers the reading public critics. These forces influence the writer in different ways. Some of my books have heavy sex scenes. I often wonder how my family feels about me producing those. Do they walk around thinking, Wow, he’s really depraved? Any number of elements in a story could stun, repulse, or frighten a family member who thought they knew the writer. I think this sits at the forefront of a lot of writers’…
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Last week, four writer-friends (Ryan O’Neill, Kim Lock, Laurie Steed, and A.S. Patric) talked about insecurities in writing. Given the Twitter response and the retweeting that followed, their answers resonated with many other writers out there. A big thank you again to my four friends for sharing. Now it’s my turn. These are my insecurities when it comes to writing: That the writing is no good. I can revise exhaustively, and still not be assured, because here’s another truth: You know what you know. When I was younger, stupider, and naïve(r), I had an unfailing confidence in my writing. But as I grew older and more experienced, I…