Writer represented by Sharon Belcastro with The Belcastro Agency
 
I struggle every single day with confidence in my writing. I know a lot of people may call me crazy for admitting this, but I do. Every night while I am snuggled in my bed, I can’t resist holding up my iPhone and reading over my current WIP.  I’ve been writing ever since I’ve been old enough  to hold a pen to a sheet of paper, but there is still that little voice inside of me that keeps telling me that I may not be good enough.

It is so easy to entertain negative thoughts. This especially rings true if you are still on the submission trail waiting on an editor to fall in love with your work,  if you are in heavy pursuit of finding the perfect literary agent to nurture your career, or if you’ve just self-published your first literary baby and you’re anxiously waiting for Amazon to begin showing reviews. How do I know if I am really good? Yeah, my betas love it. My husband loves it. My friends love it. My kids even love it. The question is, what about those who really give you the greatest indication: potential consumers?

When I was a little girl growing up in Bessemer, Alabama, my grandmamma–God bless her heart--used to sometimes go into a rant about how “folks always try to tell you how to handle your business when they can’t handle their own.” I didn’t understand that phrase that she’d use when she felt someone was invading her personal space that she didn’t feel  had the right to until I was an adult. Is this true? Can, as we say in the South, “the kettle call the coffee pot black?” Can someone who is dealing with their own personal struggle encourage you on how to handle the same situation that they are fretting about themselves? I don’t know. Maybe Grandmamma was right. Maybe she was wrong. Who knows?

Although I am in my own constant fight to believe in myself, I want to be the beacon of hope to those that don’t believe in themselves.  You will never know how good you are unless you put one foot in the road. I know I am full of clichés, but some of these clichés are what get me through my anxiety. I have to chant them to myself when I am alone at home in front of my PC and those devils with their sharp pitch forks are dancing around my head. I am further ahead than I was yesterday. That is the good thing. As long as I know that I’ve made more progress today than I made yesterday, then I know that tomorrow, I am one step closer to where I need to be.

Whenever those devils with their jalapeno scented breath and scorching red boots come knocking at your door, tell them, “Go away! A WRITER lives here and DOES NOT want to be disturbed!”

Sharon
1/13/2014 02:40:23 am

Change the voices in your head. Make them like you instead.-Pink. Don't let your mind even go there!

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Marissa Boglin
1/13/2014 02:51:36 am

Thanks, Sharon! Where would I be without you and your encouragement?

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Marissa Quinae Boglin