Young Writers Society

Do you ever start to doubt the story your writing and feel like you want to drop it?

I get that a lot and I'm never sure what to do to gain my confidence and keep writing the same story. Also, if I do end up dropping the story I regret it.

If you have any tips to how I should maintain my confidence please help

Well, personaly, I have many unfinished projects related to writing. It's nice in a sense that I don't have to focus on just, let's say a novel. If I get irritated with one novel, I stop working with it to weeks, months, who knows, while I've moved on and started progressing through another unfinished novel. Currently, I have three novels unfinished.

As for your situation, I think you should find the reasoning why you're losing confindence within yourself, which no one here can really assist. That being said, why are you losing cofindence with yourself and writing??

I have writing confidence issues, so I understand. A lot of the time I give up on projects because I entered the realm of thought that goes, "What am I thinking? How absurd am I? How much time am I wasting with this?"

There are a lot of methods around this. What I do is, have a friend or two who are good friends who have complete confidence in you. I have my boyfriend for that. I tell him when I'm feeling stupid about my writing and he just lavishes me with praise and chiding my lack of confidence. You can have relatives who love you to support you, too.

Also, I think about how many AWFUL books are on shelves in book stores. Or even popular. I remind myself that lots of people chug through writing a novel, and how I KNOW I can do better than them because... ick, their stuff, eww!

This also encourages me, because it reminds me how it's just not easy to be a writer, and all writers around you (like everyone here!) understands: http://partners.nytimes.com/books/98/09 ... riter.html

Um, yeah, just about every morning. xD "Zomg, you're an idiot for doing this! *continued mental self-punishment*"

I just kind of wait it out. I know it's just a phase, and that if I can distract myself with something else until the feeling passes, I'll usually be okay. That, and I'm a complete spaz with stories and titles. I change them constantly. Which is... sometimes good.

And then I think of Paolini or Meyers and how if those pitiful losers can do it, I certainly can.

-:pirate3:

Oh believe me, the answer is yes. I have been asking myself that recently.

My advice is to try and plug through it. If the story really isn't working, then you shouldn't beat yourself up about it. Maybe put it down and start something else, but don't consider it thrown away yet. I have a project that I put on hiatus years ago, but I still want to come back to it someday. But before I do, it is going to need a lot of work.

My current story is giving me fits. But pretty much all I can do is think that I am a writer and this is what I want to do. So I sit down and do it and usually the feeling passes. If not, I sit and whine about it on paper, all the while watching the paper fill with words and I think "hey, I'm writing something." Whine about your characters. You might come up with a brilliant idea for how Ted can murder his wife while you are complaining about how he just doesn't have a hook. Or something... *shifty eyes*

Good luck!

~GryphonFledgling

for me it always helps to come up with a new plot twist.
it makes the story more fun to write and if you think long enough about it then you could come up with a really good plot for your story.

...or take out your anguish on your characters.

WARNING! They may rebell or cause you migranes.

Thank you so much you guys! This really helps!

I'm a bit late, but oh well....

I think this happens to almost all writers...if I'm starting to feel that way, I do a few things:

Leave it alone for a while, then go back and reread. Getting away from the story might help to clear the negative feelings, and who could write their best with a mind full of doubts?

Someone may have said this one, but I also sit down and profile/develop my characters a little more, cause that's always fun. It may inspire you to pick up a pen (or mouse XD) again

Ask yourself why you began writing the story in the first place. The answer will help you decide if it's worth finishing your story, or whether it should enter the recycle bin and never resurface

Stop and think about this: The story may not have potential...but then there is a chance that it does. If you throw it away, you'll never know, but if you push yourself to write it, you will know for certain. I personally hate not knowing things, so this is pretty effective for me XD

Think back and find these two places within your story: 1. Where you felt like this was probably the best thing ever to come out of a writer's mind since Shakesphere...you know, the place where you wrote with passion AND 2. The place where you think you began to become disheartened. Reread Number One to get re-inspired, then Rewrite everything from Number Two. This method has never failed for me lol

I hope I could help. Good luck!