Becoming unstuck

I have a confession to make. Over the past two weeks I've become more and more disillusioned with my writing, which chipped away at my motivation. I just wasn't writing well enough, my last story was a mess, I was running out of ideas - it was just too hard.

Then last night, after I gave myself a good talking to, I realised that wallowing in self-doubt and self-pity is the reason I have writer's block. To get writing again, I had to stop complaining, toughen up and keep going. A few setbacks were not going to stop me from finishing this novel.

The FEAR can be useful - a small amount can be motivating. But if I don't keep an eye on it, it can stop my momentum dead. The whispers began - I'm not good, strong and talented enough, this novel is completely beyond me - and mushroomed until I couldn't imagine anyone would ever want to read the crap that I'm putting down, and how would they be able to keep their disappointment and distaste from showing on their faces when they read my work? It's enough to stop anyone right in their tracks, and that's what happened to me.

So last night I thought - sod it. My writing could actually be decent, but it's easier to listen to the negative instincts than the positive ones. And if it is true that my writing is dodgy or my stories are awful, this is a first draft after all. The main thing that encourages good writing is writing every day. This is the only fact amongst all my speculation and conjecture, so I had better get on with it.