Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The Power of Positive Thinking

I try to be a positive person. I think I am, for the most part.

At the very least, I attempt to not be negative.

Maybe I'm just neutral, then.

Who knows? The point is, I know that being positive is important.

That's a hard thing for writers to do. The very nature of writing our thoughts down on the page leaves us open to criticism, and it's so hard to remain positive when you're constantly worrying about what other people think of you. Writers pour their very souls out on the page. I don't know how to not be worried and anxious about that.

There's a cartoon I saw on a blog post by Mur Lafferty some time ago. It's a guy sitting at a computer saying how much he sucks, how could he ever think he had talent and so on. It's labeled "A Bad Writing Day." Underneath it is a panel with the same guy, saying the same thing, except this time it's labeled "A Good Writing Day" because this time, as he's saying how much he sucks, he's typing away. Writing is so much like that. It is for me, at least.

I struggle with thinking that I'll ever be successful. That I have any talent for writing, whatsoever. That anyone would ever be interested in the stories that I have to tell.

I'm sitting in the middle of a library as I type this. I'm surrounded by thousands of books. Perhaps millions. It's a big library. And I'm guessing that every one of the authors that penned these books probably had the same doubts, the same questions. Do I have any talent? Will I ever be successful? Will anyone ever be interested in the stories that I have to tell?

They're here, though. Their names are displayed prominently on the spines of their books lining the shelves, surrounding me, encouraging me. They're telling me to press on. They tell me that it's okay to doubt. It's okay to question myself. It's okay to think that everything I write is crap. But, it's only okay to do it as long as I keep typing.

Do you struggle with remaining positive? If so, I'd love to know about it. It's nice to know I'm not wallowing in fear alone.

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