I have confidence in sunshine...

Today I'm going to talk about Confidence.

Yes, that's Confidence with a big 'C'. It's that important. I believe that confidence is crucial in all areas of life--have you ever noticed what a difference it makes in how people react to you when you're positive? When you're down and saggy, people are less likely to want to talk to you, to want to help you. When you're self-assured, when you walk quickly with your head up, you invite smiles. Really. Try it.

Ever notice that it's the same way with your book? If you go to the story thinking "Gawd, I SUCK at this, I don't even know how I'm going to dredge up 500 words today, I am never going to get this book done"--do you think you will? Do you think your story and your characters will pump you up on their own, help you along? Probably not. You need to bring confidence to the page, however the heck you can come up with it. You need to KNOW that you can do this, that it's not stupid. It's not a waste of effort. You need to keep trying, and with practice it will happen. You might not get published, but your writing will improve. You will create story moments that shine. You will make yourself cry.

The scary thing for me, that I'm just finding out, is that those moments of low confidence never disappear. I always thought, like most newbie writers, that once you finished the book, you'd be over the hump. You'd be sure of yourself. You'd done it! Nope. Okay, I thought, once you get an AGENT. Nope. Once you get an editor? Nope. Once your book is on the shelf?

Apparently there will always be those moments of doubt, no matter where you are in the process. I'm not looking forward to that. But I know that if I'm going to succeed, I'm going to have to overcome those moments, and approach my work with confidence, each and every time.

Medieval Word of the Day: pismire: an ant.