Insecure Writers Support Group Day – May 2014

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Today is Insecure Writers Support Group Day, or affectionately known as IWSG for short. I haven’t taken part since December last year (WOW! Has it really been that long?).

If you don’t know what it is check out the link, but basically its one day every month where writers get to whinge and moan, give in to self pity, and share their insecurities with the world. As a member its then your job to visit other participants and offer hugs, support and encouragement.

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I think insecurity goes hand in hand with being a writer. Do you actually know any writer who thinks their work is brilliant? Im sure they’re out there, but i don’t know any lol

I am constantly insecure about my writing. I remember once, a well respected writing tutor (who herself is published) told me to be very careful of what i put on my blog, because when an agent gets my details, the first thing they will do is check out my online presence. She said if i spent my time moaning and whining about my writing, chances are, i could blow my chance of being signed. I get that, but at the same time i don’t want to be a fake. Writing is bloody hard…almost painful in some instances. We all know it, we all feel it…so why pretend otherwise? I always try to encourage other writers (in my role as ML for my area during Nano), i never pretend i find this whole thing easy, why would i?

I read a great blog post recently on R E Hunters blog entitled Creativity & Mental Illness  (do go have a read…its only a little post). So if that study is correct i think agents and publishers have far more to worry about than a writer who bitches occasionally, and basically, feeling insecure is the least of my problems 😉

So yes I’m insecure…yes i constantly compare my work to that of others…yes, i read published work and think why am i bothering. But at the end of the day, i still am bothering…get that 😉

Im off to offer some hugs to my fellow insecuries (is that even a word? lol)

Are you an insecure writer? 

59 thoughts on “Insecure Writers Support Group Day – May 2014”

  2. That’s a sensible way of looking at it. You would have to be seriously bitchy, I think, to not get signed if they liked your work.

    And your post is much more upbeat than mine this month 🙂

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  3. You have no reason to be insecure. You forget we all saw your A-Z recently as well as past work. It’s good so you just trot along and offer hugs and support to those who need it.
    xxx Massive Hugs xxx

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  5. I’m an insecure writer, I’m creative, and I’m mentally ill. My trifecta of doom is rapid cycling type 2 bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
    I used to be obsessed with the idea of becoming a famous writer, but it got in the way of my writing, so I took the obsession out back and shot it and got on with the writing that I enjoy!
    My blog is The Cheese Whines.

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    • Good for you Cie 🙂

      I went through a state last year when i was too focused on becoming published, and it killed the joy i had in writing 😦

      Huge (((((hugs))))) honey and thanks for stopping by xx

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  7. I’m so glad you came back to the IWSG, Vikki. I’m always surprised how fast time flies. I don’t worry too much about what I put on my blog because I don’t see myself as a famous author. I’m just a chick who loves to write. Maybe one day I’ll get a book published and that’d be awesome. But, famous? Doubtful. Cool, but doubtful.

    Elsie
    co-host IWSG

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    • Ahhhhh, now thats an interesting thought Elsie. Do famous published authors have to think twice before they hit that “publish” button on a blog post? Most of the websites I’ve seen for published authors go on about how great it all is. Is that what their agents are telling them to say?

      Thanks for stopping by honey xx

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  8. Wonderful post, Vicki. You’re so right. I don’t know of any ‘artists’ who believe they have superb talent. One of my hobbies is water color painting. I paint with a group of men and women, many who are incredibly talented. But they don’t see the beauty in their work. Another woman who taught me has a rare talent. She lives in poverty, refusing to sell her paintings beileving no one would buy them. Ugh!!!! Same goes for writers. While I write my novels I discover moments of genius – just moments. The rest of the 90% of my writing requires work and rework. Sometimes I wonder why I continue. But there’s something within that drives me back to the keyboard. Why do I have this thirst to go on? But then, in spite of my criticism of my work, I see the look of wonder and pleasure in a reader’s eyes. Perhaps we are all much too hard on ourselves, expect genius 100% of the time. I wonder …. perhaps it’s the quest for perfection that makes each of us dig deep into the creative pit. It is the creative mind that understands that reservoir’s unlimited potential and that there is no destination. We do it for the journey.

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    • Awwwww, that is so sad honey, the lady who won’t sell her work because she thinks its not good enough.

      Oh, totally! Always for love and the journey. They say don’t they, don’t take up writing for the money! lol

      Glad to hear you’ve figured out why you keep putting yourself through it. I’ll get there, one day 🙂

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  9. I totally agree! And hey, I have a bunch of books out that people actually buy and give 5-stars to and I STILL think I suck! When I published (self) my last book, I was sending ARCs out to early reviewers and as I pushed “send” I was thinking, “Oh my gosh, this is the worst book ever and they’re gonna HATE IT”. Minutes later, I was setting the book up on Goodreads. As I pushed publish there, I thought “Oh my gosh, this could be IT! This could be the book that people really, really love!”.

    Hahaha. Yes, I am a writer. Yes, I’m (just a little bit) crazy. Yes, I think they go hand in hand!

    We all live in Crazy Town, I think. I think that’s why we all like each other so well!

    ((hugs))

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  10. Welcome back, Vikki. I think blogging is absolutely about sharing. And if sharing means talking about your fears, worries, regrets, well, I can’t really see anyone faulting you for that. Houses sign if they think they’ll make money from your book. Simple as that. Unless you’re aiming for one of the 6 biggies. Best advice I ever got was to be myself. It’s easy to remember that way.

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    • Thats very good advice honey, thank you 🙂 Yes, i agree. I think unless the stuff on my blog was obscene, racist, extremist or derogatory in some way i would have thought being me, being genuine is more important.

      I think i’ll continue keeping it real 😉 xx

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  14. I think any writer who’s ever going to be any good has insecurities. It’s the ones who think they’re all that that we should worry about.

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  15. Hello, nice to meet you Vikki. I agree with everything. You’re post is spot on. I truly believe most writer’s feel insecure and writing is damn hard work, and no one understands that better than a writer!

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    • Hi Catherine 🙂

      Totally honey. Every time i get together with my writing group you hear the same problems, the same fears and anxieties, and like you say, we all understand exactly what that feels like.

      I LOVE this group!!!! 🙂 xx

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  19. I too suffer from bouts of terrible insecurity. I try to drown them in chocolate syrup 🙂

    I am reading a book on writing platforms by Kristen Lamb and she states that the reason publishers look at your blog is because they want to know you have a built in readership so they know how much risk they’ll be taking. With that in mind, any blog that is mostly spent talking about writing will only draw other writers (which is smaller than it seems) and won’t be broad enough to draw the kinds of readers you want to buy your work. So I think it has less to do with if you are “whining” or not and more to do with the general content of your blog. Is it entertaining and broad enough to attract people outside the small world of writers and hardcore readers?

    Writing IS hard, Every word is a drop of blood upon the page and I think there is a huge difference between talking about that blood and wah-wah-wah woe-is-me type complaining.

    Good luck!

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  20. Hi Vikki! I’m in the group too, so hi! Yes, I agree with your view that most writers are insecure – I guess it comes with the territory – and maybe that’s because it’s a solitary profession. However, with friends online these days, I feel a whole heap better about things 🙂

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    • Huge (((((hugs))))) Linda. You’ll get back to it honey, I’m sure you will.

      In the meantime, if you ever get chance to escape (ha ha ha) let me know…coffee…cake…shopping…a listening ear…im your woman 🙂

      xx

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  22. Insecure….well, no.

    It’s not that I don’t see all the ways I could write better, or that I never doubt anyone would want to read it…it’s just that I’m a human.

    And none of us are perfect. So I don’t have to be.

    Can’t be.

    And that’s all right.

    I’m as good as I am. It’s a lot like being alive. Some days and some writing emerge gloriously. Others are horrific (word to the wiser than me – don’t buy an appliance at a department store hours after your newborn’s death, because you know family from the other side of the country will be calling to check on the baby – and Facebook and cell phones aren’t yet big things, since it’s 2003. You will hate the phone forever, and you aren’t up to telling the story over and over. And a clerk will say, “How are we today?” and “Have a nice day,” And you’ll bite your tongue so you don’t tell her how utterly impossible that is…).

    So yeah.

    So long as I write what’s inside me, it more or less comes out all right. And that’s what I’m going for. =D

    If you come back again and again, even when it’s ugly, you’re already miles beyond those who stop the second it gets painful, or who talk about someday, but never actually do it,..

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  23. Maybe late, but still enjoyed the post. It’s OK to be wan and pale over the agony of writing, (but don’t bother to loudly wring hands about how unworthy/useless you are as a writer – there are too many others who will gladly run you down and be overly critical – so don’t do it to yourself…yes it’s mom speaking..giggles added here)

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    • Ha ha ha, thanks honey 🙂

      its so much easier to run myself down (before others do) than big myself up and i was brought up being told never to blow my own trumpet. Thanks honey, i promise, no more hand ringing mom 😉

      xx

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  24. Writing is hard! Most of us are insecure, and it’s not really complaining, it’s commiserating with like-minded people. Just write something an agent or publisher wants and I’m pretty sure they’ll ignore the rest–unless you’re attacking them directly, then maybe not 🙂

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  25. Hi Vikki!
    Just popping over from the IWSG! Yes, I am an insecure writer! In some way, I believe we all are. But it’s the love of the story, of the written word that keeps us going back to the computer, the blank page for more. Some may call it narcissistic; I call it true love 🙂

    Nice to meet you!
    Cheers,
    Jen

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