October Novel Prep Challenge

At four this morning, I woke up to the sound of a monster clawing its way out from under my bed. Me and this fellow have a history you see, and it came back to sit on my chest and tap me on the forehead with its evil claws.

This monster has a name. Doubt.

I can’t write this story. Heck, I can’t write at all. Nothing I write will ever be any good. It’s awful, everything is terrible, and I should just give up now before I dig myself any deeper.

Tap, tap, tap.

It’s easy to listen to the monster when it comes calling in the middle of the night. Easy to fall into the darkness and give in.

But …

But. One small little word, yet one we can forge a sword out of to slay the Doubt.

Yes, everything I write right now might feel like crap, but do you know what I’ve learned? That a few weeks from now, or a few months, I’ll go back and read what I’ve written. And to my amazement, its not as horrid as I remember while writing it.

The hardest thing ever is to keep writing when it feels like all your doing is shoveling crap from a seated position, but don’t give up. Don’t let the monster win. Don’t listen to the voices in the night.

I won’t promise that what you’re working on will be amazing, or great, or even good. What I can promise is that if you keep going, it will get better.

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
- Ernest Hemingway

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
- Winston Churchill

“The worst thing you write is better than the best thing you did not write.”
- Unknown