writing motivation and tips

Fears, Doubts, And Insecurities

Once upon a time, in 4th grade, I was really confident about myself. I knew what I was capable of and my strengths. I didn't have anything I was afraid of, and the most scary thing for me as a kid were insects, and animals.

But that changed when I changed schools in 5th grade. I was now insecure, self-conscious, scared, doubtful and feared everything which was new to me.

I wasn't my old self like before and from then on, insecurities have always been a part of my life.

It's really difficult to get over insecurities when it doesn't only stem from your physical attributes but also your other characteristics as well.

I always saw my classmates in a light where they were better than me, I saw them achieve things in an easier way which was very hard for me. (I know now that they must've went through many problems as well, but that's a different topic).

My point is, fears, insecurities, and doubts, will always be a part of life. Many a times, it will stop you from achieving goals or working.

No matter how and where you're at your life, nagging thoughts, your insecurities, fears, and doubts follow you around.

Maybe some day you'll get over it. Maybe not.

We have insecurities about career, about our love life, about ourselves. As I said above,

Insecurities are not limited to just physical attributes.

And writers are not spared from it as well.

I asked a few writers what were their fears, insecurities, and doubts they faced as a writer.

This was long overdue, but I couldn't publish because of my internships, my training, and my health. Apologies for that because I have been wanting to do it since February!!

Anyway, moving on, I have gathered the answers given by the writers. The writers are in no particular order and are listed according to the flow of my writing. The questions I asked are mostly similar so I will be publishing one chapter per question. As I'm writing this, I realized that I could've just created a group chat and asked them that but oh well, I can be a dummy sometimes.

So, the beginning.

What are the fears, insecurities, doubts you faced as a writer?

"I had a actually a lot of fears. I always asked myself would anybody read my stories? Would the readers like it and understand my message behind it?
I think its normal to feel insecure about your writing it will teach you to be better by doing more research and adding a few more vocabularies in my notebook. That way I doubted my work less then at the beginning." says SakuLee26

As a writer, I went through so many doubts. Like, what if I'm not creative enough to write so and so book? English is my second language, what if I become a laughing stock in front of the whole world.

tropicalxsabotage says, "English is my second language so I was afraid of making lots of spelling errors. A fear of mine was my stories possibly flopping so they wouldn't get reads."

@lovelyandbubbly put what I wanted to say so accurately!

"If my work is good enough, thats the question I ask myself the most. If what I am sharing with others will make them realize how much I love this. Sometimes I venture on thinking the books dont make sense at all as well just to spice my anxiety a little."

And to be honest, this fear will always stay with me.

Before, I didn't use to call myself a writer because I was that insecure. But growing up, I embraced my flaws, and even if no one recognized me now or in the future, to me, I'll always be a writer.