Fear and Doubt are two negative thought loops that occasionally plague all writers.

We fear the failure of never publishing our book.

We doubt that we are even good writers.

Our inner critic loves to roar loudest for the things that are truly meaningful to us.

But negative thoughts and feelings do not help us as writers. They hold us back. 

They keep us from writing, from taking the necessary risks to witness our goals come to fruition.

So, today, I’ll share some strategies to help you beat these negative thoughts.

We’re not ignoring our feelings when we let them go.

That doesn’t work. They’ll just be there bubbling under the surface until they burst free of those constraints and wreak further damage upon our subconscious.

Instead, we’ll acknowledge and reframe these negative thought processes so that when we write, it is with joy once again.

Feelings of inadequacy, self-doubt and fear of failure are coping mechanisms that our subconscious feeds us. 

Our brains evolved as “danger alarms” to protect us from hungry hyenas and other wild animals.

Triggering fear has us reacting appropriately –  avoiding these predators when we weren’t equipped to challenge them.

But our world has changed, and we don’t need such intense alarm systems today.

Yet, our brains don’t realize this. They’re still searching out any potential danger and protecting us by maintaining the intensity of these thoughts and feelings.

As writers, our subconscious attempts to protect us from loss and disappointment.

We perceive that if our book never gets published or if readers pronounce it as badly written, we’ll feel horrible. 

Our brains don’t want us to face this, so they build barriers to keep us in our cozy comfort zone – the land of dreams and “what ifs” never realized.

If our writing goals stay dreams, we can protect them from the great big world. But, they’ll only ever be just that: a “what if.”

We’ll never discover how things truly turn out for us.

How do we guide our subconscious? How do we let it know that sometimes we aren’t in danger, even if there is the potential for failure?

That’s what we’re gonna figure out today!

In Brianna Wiest’s book, The Mountain is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage into Self-Mastery, she states, “When we fail out of negligence, we take a step back. When we fail because we are attempting new feats, we take one step closer to what will work.”

What does this mean?

Well, there absolutely will be times when we fail.

We can’t deny that our novel may not find a giant audience, or face critique, or not have agents interested in picking it up.

But those are all failures borne out of trying. We can learn from those moments. 

When an agent doesn’t believe our book is ready for publication, that’s an excellent sign that we have further work to do. We can continue to improve.

We want to face that kind of failure on occasion. If we don’t, we’ll never get better.

So, is there a type of failure we should fear? 

Wiest calls this the failure of negligence.

When we don’t try because we fear failure, we are trapped by those negative thought loops.

We hold ourselves back from continuing to learn, improve and give our dreams the chance to become successful.

We stay in the realm of unknowing because we don’t want to cope with any fallout.

The only person hurt by that choice is us.

If we are not willing to try, then we have already failed.

Failure from trying something new is a risk we want to take. 

In that experience, we can recognize that not knowing something yet doesn’t mean we can’t master those skills.

It’s a skill we wouldn’t have ever improved if it was never called out.

Attempting anything, writing and publishing included, is a courageous act for we can never know what will or won’t happen.

Celebrate your courage to step into the unknown.

Are you attempting to hide your negative thoughts and feelings, your fear of failure, from yourself?

Just like our protagonists, we’re not very good at that.

Trying to ignore our doubts often leads to a host of problems, one of which is that we attempt to stamp out writing from our lives altogether.

And, if you’re anything like me, writing is a passion that fuels you. Remove it, and your mental state gets a bit wonky.

We need to start by observing our thoughts without judgment. Become aware of the specific negative thoughts that feed your inner critic.

Journaling your inner dialogue is a great tool as it helps to keep track of what misbeliefs you’re grasping onto.

When a thought pops up like, “this will never get published,” pause. Dig deeper.

Ask yourself:

What am I really afraid of?

Is it the idea of failing or facing the emotions that come with failure that scares me?

What if I did succeed?

What do I need to work on?

Writers pour so much of themselves into their work that never getting published can feel like a personal rejection: it’s not the writing or the plot that still needs improvement, it’s you as a person who is not worthy of publication.

And that is a whole lot harder to grapple with.

Figure out what core need your fear hinges on.

That is where your personal mindset work needs to take action. Here, you’ll find 3 ways to overcome self-doubt as a writer.

These tips may just help shift that mindset!

Isn’t it strange that the truth of a fear can feel more real than the truth of reality?

We fear failing to ever be published and are certain that this is true. We absolutely won’t be published. 

But, in reality, we have no idea what will happen. This fear is not a fact, it is a simple worry.

If you are more focused on what might go wrong than what might go right, your emotional resilience needs some work.

Your inner critic has a narrative that it will continue to feed you, but you will also feed it when you allow these worries more validity than they’re worth.

Instead, challenge that narrative.

When your inner critic raises its voice, remind yourself with compassion that we don’t know this to be true.

If we never try, it will certainly be a fact.

But we’re taking the risk so we can discover our reality. 

Remind your inner critic of what might go well, what you might be able to accomplish, and hold its hand as it crosses this scary mountain terrain.

Allow yourself to feel your fears and emotions, then comfort your inner critic every step of the way.

Why do you love writing? Why do you want to continue writing? Why do you want to be published?

When you are clear on why you’re pursuing your writing goal and certain that it still aligns with you, it’s a lot easier to overcome negative thought loops. 

When your perseverance flags, come back to your “why.”

Your reason should be such a strong desire that it reignites you. You want to keep going because you are feeding a core need of yours through this process.

Additionally, recognize all that you’ve already learned and accomplished.

You may not have published your book yet, but there is so much that you’ve already accomplished on your way to this goal.

Plotting your novel, writing a chapter, revising – these small goals are crucial pieces of your dream’s realization. Learn how to celebrate those wins in this blog post.

And celebrate how your writing has improved over time, because you certainly don’t write as you did in elementary school.

With every story you write, you’ll discover how your process gets a little tighter, your characters are more fleshed out, or your sentence structure is crisp and sharp.

These accomplishments prove to yourself and your inner critic that you have what it takes to keep growing as you pursue your goal.

And for the areas that you can tell still need improvement? 

Ask yourself, what can I do right now to hone my craft? 

Read others’ work, take a class, and keep writing because you’ll never get better without practice.

Become an active participant in your goals.

Seek solutions when a worry or a problem appears.

Negative thoughts may arise, but you can choose to act anyway.

When self-doubt influences you to consider retiring from writing, write anyway.

Action often precedes mindset shifts.

To begin flipping the switch on your fears, you’ll need to prove to yourself and your inner critic that you intend to keep trying.

By making progress toward your goals and improving your craft, you provide essential evidence that you can do hard things. 

So, when a fear is keeping you from writing, ask yourself:

Is there any truth in your fear?

What is the next step that I can take? To improve? To work toward my goals?

Use these questions to take action.

“Real” writers aren’t fearless.

They continue to write despite their fears and worries.

Your negative thoughts and emotions will return from time to time. Do not fear them.

Use the above strategies to prove to yourself that you are committed to being a writer.

Keep learning. Keep writing.

Keep challenging your inner critic.

What small action can you take today to shift your negative thought loops?

If you’re eager to continue working on your writer mindset, check out this blog post round-up to help you overcome self-doubt.

Talk soon!

Julia