Tuesday, April 14, 2015

L: Let It Go

The IWSG blog is all about providing encouragement to writers and our theme for the A to Z Challenge is filled with it. Come back every day for a little pep talk.

Stress, discouragement, absent muse? Writers put pressure on themselves. To get the book done. To make this book better than the last one. To write faster. To write better first drafts. To actually make some money. To land an agent or sigh a contract. To win a contest.

In their minds, some writers feel competitive with others. Are they getting more sales? What is the Amazon ranking. How many five star reviews? And the envy... Does everyone else write in lyrical prose? Is my dialogue flat and unrealistic?

All those doubts add up and pile on our egos and beat us down. Someone should throw a penalty flag.

Other writers offer encouragement and praise. Family members and friends support us with their presence and sometimes financially. They show up at book signings and take care of dinner when we're too busy.

But despite that, the self-inflicted stress builds up and can drag us to a stop. The power to rise above the doubts is within yourself. Let it go.


You can't be talked out of those doubts so you have to chose to go on anyway. Let them go. Be free of them and you'll find your creativity rising like a great drift of snow in Boston. Whoops. Don't know if we're allowed to joke about that yet.

Everyone has doubts but the secret is to persevere beyond them and keep going, keep writing. Let it go!

Probably many people are sick of Frozen references but the lesson is valid for all of us. Accept who we are and gain strength from that. Let our doubts go.

Was it safe to make any references to winter? Sick of Frozen? Do you like the moral of the story? How do you let go of your doubts and move past them?

23 comments:

Christine Rains said...

It's totally safe to make references to winter when all the flowers are starting to bloom. Sometimes I'm not good at letting go of doubts, but I am good at pushing onward anyway.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Letting go is up to us - no one can do it for us.
I don't have kids, so fortunately I've not heard that song a million times.

klahanie said...

I am by no means feeling pressure or competing with writers. All I do is write and embrace the sharing impact it can have. The intimacy between the writer and the reader.

How about "Let It Go" and stop this ridiculous alphabet challenge. Enough of this, already :)

All the best, Susan.

Gary

Pat Hatt said...

The best way to be, let it slide away and enjoy the day

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Nice to hear from people who aren't feeling any pressure.

kaykuala said...

Letting it go will mean giving a chance to oneself. It will leave a great feeling!

http://imagery77.blogspot.com/2015/04/a-photographers-gem.html

Hank

Anonymous said...

It's hard not to feel pressure for all those reasons. Let it go is easy to say, but not so easy to do. It's a daily challenge.
Personally, I love the song, Let It Go, and never get tired of it.

Peaches Ledwidge said...

Susan and Kelly, this is a good post for all writers.

Tamara Narayan said...

I've got young daughters, so yes, I'm sick to death of Frozen the movie and that song. However, the message is a good one. I can remember watching a TV special on Sting while I was in the middle of studying for my Ph.D. comprehensive exams (in math). I was so jealous of someone pursuing art as their work at that moment, so now, if writing woes get me down, I try to remember that this is what I wanted. To pursue art!

Majanka Verstraete said...

I love your post and the Frozen reference! You're right, we have to let go of the doubts.

My latest blogging A to Z challenge post.

Mike said...

Good advice! My daughter is a big Frozen fan so lots of Frozen references

Anonymous said...

I haven't seen Frozen, but I am sick of snow given how much we got this year. =P

Great advice though. I usually have to make myself do that when I get overwhelmed.

~Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
Member of C. Lee's Muffin Commando Squad
Story Dam
Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

Julie Flanders said...

I'm a weirdo who likes winter and hates the heat and humidity of summer, so I appreciated the reference. :D
I'm still working on letting go of my doubts but I'm getting there.

Raesquiggles said...

As the mother of two daughters I have seen this film many times, and yes, I'm a little jaded by it, but I love the sentiment of the song. Sometimes I struggled not to hang on to things I should simply let go.

Michelle Wallace said...

Thanks for the encouragement to "let it go"... it can be very difficult...
We need the reminder.

Anonymous said...

Great post! So true that we put a lot of stress on ourselves. Let it go is correct but easier said then done.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I'm glad to hear there are some more people not tired of that song beside myself. It's a great power song for young girls.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Let the doubts go!

I still love that movie.

Su-sieee! Mac said...

That's a good chant: Let it go! I've been listening to the doubts for much too long. I don't ever get past them. When I finally come up for air, I pack them on ice and move on, hoping I won't happen on to them again.
The View from the Top of the Ladder
Take 25 to Hollister

i b arora said...

let go, that could be an everyday formula

Anonymous said...

I'm not yet sick of Frozen, but I don't have kids. lol

And a great moral.

Anonymous said...

The Frozen reference is spot on here. Too often I get caught up in the perfectionism. Thannks for the reminder.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Your post is wonderful, Susan. Thanks. I haven't seen Frozen yet. I am cold though. Does that count?