Ask the Coach: 6 Antidotes for Self-Doubt in Writing – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m addressing a set of questions from a reader about managing self-doubt in writing.

“[My] fear of failure has several prongs for me:

1. What if no one likes my writing? I’m trying to make it as truthful as it is filled with emotion and colorful descriptions, but maybe it’s just me because I relate to it all.

2. I’m currently writing a memoir that involves some memories of my parents and their failures — but good memories also. I feel guilty/disloyal for writing about their failures, but to some extent that’s where the strength of the story lies.

3. What I create in my head as I’m falling asleep never seems to be as great when I put it into my computer.

4. I suffer off and on with imposter syndrome, but I usually like what I write in the end.”

This is a set of challenging questions so many writers wrestle with. It reads to me like issues of self-doubt more than a fear of failure, though the two are intertwined.

First let me say this: In working with writers all over the world, being a writer myself, and reading first-hand accounts of seasoned, professional writers, so many if not all writers deal with self-doubt and fear much of the time (including me).

Here are the 6 antidotes I discuss in my response:

  1. Use self-doubt as a clue that what you’re working on is important.
  2. Trust that truth transcends differences.
  3. Ask yourself empowering questions.
  4. With memoir, write for yourself first.
  5. Embrace the vision while also welcoming imperfection.
  6. Trust the process.

The real key to all of this is learning to manage the doubts and the fears so they don’t stop you from writing, and so that they don’t make the experience of writing miserable along the way, by triggering overwhelming negative self-talk, habitual procrastination, perfectionism, and even shame.

 

Want the full scoop? Get all the details in the full article on Script Mag:
 
 
 
If you’ve got writing questions, please send them my way!
I’d love to answer them for you in my column.
 

Ask the Coach: How Can I Keep Up My Confidence In Myself as a Writer? – On Script Mag

In this month’s “Ask the Coach” article, I’m responding to a question about how to keep up confidence in writing:

“My biggest challenge is making regular time to write and work on a script. My question is about keeping my confidence up that I can do this.”

Here’s the high-level overview of my response:

  • Being confident means feeling self-assured, believing in yourself and your abilities, and trusting that you can rely on yourself.
  • Build confidence through experience and by taking action.
  • Protect your confidence by making smart choices about who you interact with and with whom you share your work.
  • How you talk to yourself really matters.
  • Taking consistent, regular action to write builds confidence.
  • Starting and finishing scripts makes a big difference.
  • Facing and solving tough story challenges teaches you that your storytelling skills are improving.
  • The evidence you take in matters.
  • Choosing to believe in yourself ultimately comes first — it’s a choice.

When you take creative risks, however small, and build on your successes, you gradually learn where and how you can trust yourself.

 
Want the full scoop? There are more details in the full article on Script Mag: 
Ask the Coach: How Can I Keep Up My Confidence In Myself as a Writer?


 
 
 
If you’ve got writing questions, please send them my way!
I’d love to answer them for you in my column.
 
Photo by Content Pixie on Unsplash 
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