Author: Nicole Simms

Hi, All! I’m back with some more self-doubt fighting words.

So, what do I have for you today? Well, today I have decided to talk about how you, as a writer, should take care of yourself. It may seem obvious that you need to look after yourself, but when you’re juggling multiple writing projects with work and other commitments, you’ll soon find that you can easily neglect yourself. But one of the things that Mr Self Doubt loves is a tired and overworked writer. So don’t let him sneak up on you, instead, let me guide you through ways that you can, as a writer, take better care of yourself.

 

1. Try to eat more healthily: It’s so easy to skip meals and eat junk food when you’re a writer, who pounds the keys on the keyboard all day, but you must be firm with yourself and make sure you have three healthy meals.
2. Add exercise to your daily routine: You’ll be amazed how exercising can help your writing. I often find myself coming up with new story ideas or working out my current pieces of fiction while I exercise. And exercise doesn’t mean going to the gym, going out for a walk still counts.
3. Take regular breaks: This can include anything from going on holiday to lying on your sofa. Writing can and will take up a lot of your time, especially if you have to balance a day job and other responsibilities; however, it is important to take some time away to relax and do something else because a tired mind isn’t a productive one.
4. Try a new hobby: It’s a good idea to have other hobbies to take your mind off the pressure of writing. Not only will this allow you to have a break, but it will also give you ideas for new stories. I love to bake, and I have written many stories about bakers. Have you heard about the adult colouring books? I’ve not tried it myself, but it is said to help you to relax.
5. Go out and meet people: This is one of the reasons why I decided to join a writing group. While it’s good to talk to other writers online, nothing beats sitting and having a face-to-face chat with people, especially people who share your passions. You don’t have to join a writing group, though; you can meet up with friends, visit family. They all count.

 

So there you have it, five ways to take better care of yourself. It’s not an easy thing to do, especially when you have deadlines, but you need to remember that with a tired body and mind you won’t be as successful as you can be. So, don’t feel bad about allowing yourself some me time. It’s what we all need.

 

Keep writing folks, but do it with a fresh mind and healthy body.

To end this post, here is another inspirational quote:

“Stop what you are doing. Go outside and breathe. The world will not end if you take ten minutes for yourself.” ― Fawn Germer

 

Hi, All! I’m back again with my self-doubt fighting words. So what do I have for you all today? Well, I’m back on to the topic of rejection. As we all know, it’s the fear of rejection that helps to feed Mr Self Doubt, and when you do receive a rejection it can feel like Superman has punched you in the gut. However, I won’t be talking about the pain of rejection. Instead, I have come to tell you that rejection… gets better. Yes, it really does get easier to handle.

How do I know rejection gets better? Well, I was the type who struggled to deal with rejection. I’ve lost count how many times I have vowed to quit only to end up writing the next day, but what I have recently noticed is that every time I receive a rejection, I no longer crumple up, and eat lots of chocolate. I still feel disappointed when I do get that huge ‘no’, but now I simply say, “Okay, I’ll have another look later and submit it elsewhere.”

So what’s brought on this change? Below I have listed five things that may have helped with my battle with rejection:

• I am now brave enough to call myself a writer. It has taken me a long time to get to this point, but I finally feel able to tell the world that I write stories, and some of them are disturbing. Yay me!
• My perseverance has helped me battle with the rejection blues. Giving up on writing is the only way you will never reach your end goal, so regardless of rejections, you need to keep on writing. Perseverance is key.
• My past publishing success and positive comments on my work has boosted my confidence. It’s such a great feeling when someone says that they like your work.
• I can see an improvement in my writing skills, especially when I compare my current stories to the ones I wrote in 2012.
• Gaining support from other writers. I’m now part of a writing group, and so whenever I do get a rejection (or anyone else) we all support each other. However, you don’t need to go to a writing group to get support. You can find the same support online.

I can’t tell you when rejection will start to get better, but I can tell you that, in time, it will, so don’t give up. Keep writing and keep submitting.

To end this post, here is another inspirational quote:

“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success.” – Bo Bennett

Happy New Year! It’s 2016. Can you believe it? It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were all preparing for 2015. With a new year here, many of us will now be looking at our writing and considering our next move, and that’s where writing goals can help.

I’ve always found it useful to have goals and plans, especially when it comes to writing. They have helped me to keep my focus and motivation. It feels great when you can tick a goal off your list. Without goals, I don’t think I would be at the stage I am now. So today I will be sharing why it’s a great idea to set some writing goals for 2016.

Here’s how writing goals can help you:

• You will find it easier to know which direction you are going in.
• They help to keep you motivated, especially when you have to deal with rejection.
• You will be able to see and celebrate your progress. Ticking off a goal feels great.
• They help you to overcome procrastination. The deadline can encourage you to work on your writing rather than putting it off.
• You will make better use of your time. Clear goals can help you to prioritise your projects.

 

When making your writing goals, it is a good idea to break them down into smaller and more manageable chunks. For example, if getting your novel published is your main goal, then you can break that goal down into several mini goals e.g. write the first draft, edit, find an agent, etc. That way, your goal isn’t so overwhelming.

 

If you are stuck for ideas on what writing goals you can have, then see my New Year’s Resolution for Writers post.

This website also has a great writing goal template to use:  http://writerswrite.co.za/writing-goals-2016

It’s good to have writing goals; however, be prepared for some of your goals to change during the year. Also, you might not complete all of your goals (many of my 2016 goals were my 2015 goals) but as long as you keep writing then that’s all that matters. Every step is a step forward, no matter how small the step.

No matter what your writing goals are, I wish you all good luck.

To end this post, here is another inspirational quote:

“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” – Fitzhugh Dodson

 

Hello everyone! Guess what… it’s nearly NaNoEdMo time. Yes, you read that right, NaNoEdMo not NaNoWriMo. What’s NaNoEdMo? Well, this is what I will be talking to you about today.

I’m sure you all know what NaNoWriMo is, but for those who don’t, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Every year on 1^st November, writers around the world (I’m not exaggerating. It really is worldwide) vow to write 50,000 words of their novel in a month. It’s a difficult task, but trust me, it’s a great challenge. If you are taking part in this year’s NaNoWriMo and suffering from self-doubt, I recommend you read my NaNoWriMo and Self-doubt post.

What is NaNoEdMo? Well, NaNoEdMo stands for National Novel Editing Month. It’s not a new idea, but after seeing an email about the NaNoWriMo, I thought it would be a great way to finally get some real editing done on my novel, which so happens to be last year’s NaNoWriMo novel. The original NaNoEdMo starts in March, but with not having another novel to write, I thought now would be the great time to complete my second draft. I have to admit I have neglected my novel in favour of short stories for too long, so from 1st November I will be making a vow. By the end of November, I plan to have my second draft completed.

So, if you too would like to join me on my editing quest, I will be sharing some tips with you.

The NaNoEdMo goal

It is important to decide on your final goal before the 1^st November. Your goal could be:

• To do 50 hours of editing. This is the original goal for the NaNoEdMo, and the 50 hours doesn’t include any planning or researching. It may also be a good idea to not include time staring at the screen into your editing hours.
• To finish the draft stage you are currently working on. I’m currently working on my second draft, so that will be my goal for NaNoEdMo.
• To rewrite a certain amount of chapters. If finishing a whole draft stage may feel like an impossible task to do in a month, then why not decide on editing say, 10 chapters, etc.

Preparing for NaNoEdMo

Like with NaNoWriMo, October is the month to prepare yourself for the task at hand, so in October you can plan to:

• Finish most of your research. Remember, researching won’t count as part of your editing hours.
• Finish plotting and planning. You may need to replot your first draft, or create new characters. Now would be the time to get started.
• Prepare yourself mentally for the challenge. Tell yourself that you can do it rather than you can’t.

It doesn’t matter what your goal is as long as it is right for you and your novel. The most important thing is that you promise not to keep your novel hidden away in a box. Many writers feel like they are wasting their time, and that their novel will never see the light of day, but the only way that will happen is if you keep putting off the editing. You need to believe that it is worth the time and that success is within your reach. All you need to do is work hard and persevere.

Whether you take part in NaNoWriMo or NaNoEdMo, I wish you all the best of luck, and hopefully at the end of November we will again all be winners.

To end this post, here is another inspirational quote:

“If you want to accomplish anything in life, you can’t just sit back and hope it will happen. You’ve got to make it happen.” – Chuck Norris

 

Hi, everyone! I’m back with some more self-doubt fighting words. So what do I have for you today? Well, today I will be discussing how to tell the difference between self-doubt and gut feeling. Throughout my writing journey, I have experienced both. However, while self-doubt is a pain and often gets in the way, gut feeling is something you shouldn’t ignore, and this is why today we will be looking at how to tell the difference between the two.

Before we can try to tell the difference between self-doubt and gut feeling, we need to know what each one is. What is self-doubt? Self-doubt is the lack of confidence and belief in yourself and your abilities. You fear that what you are doing is wrong, even when you don’t have a valid reason to believe so. What is gut feeling? Gut feeling is the feeling that something is wrong, but you can’t figure out what. However, you are sure that there is something wrong with your story or poem. It’s less about you as a writer and more about your individual project.

As you can see, it is quite easy to get the two mixed up, so how do you tell the difference? Well, I have come up with five tips to help you:

What to do:

• Allow other people to read your story. However, you need to make sure that you don’t tell your readers that you feel something is wrong with your story; you don’t want to lead them.
• Put a story away for a while and come back to it with fresh eyes. Is the issue still there? Sometimes you just need time away from a story because if you stare at something long enough, it’s easy to see mistakes, even when they are not there.
• See if the doubt is about you as a writer or a particular story or poem. Do you feel this way about all of your stories or is it just the one. Submission Phobia will also convince you that your story isn’t ready to submit. If the doubt is about you as a writer, then you’re dealing with self-doubt. However, if it’s about the story (e.g. the ending doesn’t feel right), then you might need to do another edit. I would suggest a break from the story before doing this. From my experience, you can see mistakes better after a break.
• Try to figure out what is wrong. This isn’t easy, but for you to be sure that there is an issue with your story you need to know what it is. So to figure out what’s wrong, you can ask questions. The questions to ask are why (e.g. why does the ghost haunt the main character?), what (e.g. what’s the theme or message behind the story?), how (e.g. how did the killer get into the house?), who (e.g. who is the main character? And not just the name but who are they as a person.), and when (e.g. when did the main character discover the killer?)
• Start believing in yourself. This isn’t easy (trust me, I know), but you need to believe that you can write, and instead of putting yourself down focus on ways to improve yourself and your work. Once you do this, then you’ll soon be able to differentiate between self-doubt and gut feeling.

So there you have it, five ways to tell the difference between self-doubt and gut feeling. I hope they help. It is difficult, and sometimes self-doubt can disguise itself as ‘gut feeling’, but all you can do is keep writing and not allow fear to stop you from succeeding.

To end this post, here is another inspirational quote:

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.” ― Suzy Kassem

 

Hi, everyone! I’m back with some more self-doubt fighting words. So what do I have for you today? Well, today I will be discussing why, as writers, it is important to persevere even when the writing journey hits a brick wall.

There have been many times when I wanted to give up, delete all of my stories, and forget about writing. However, while you may feel this way, you need to remember that perseverance does pay off. It might not be today, tomorrow, next month or next year, but one day you shall reap the rewards. There are many authors who have achieved success due to not giving up: Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone with the wind” was rejected 38 times, Stephen King’s “Carrie” was rejected 30 times, and J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone” was rejected 12 times. However, it’s not always easy to persevere, so below I have some tips for you.

How to keep going:

• Celebrate all achievements even the small ones. If you come up with an interesting character or story idea, celebrate. If you finish your first draft, celebrate. If you submit a story, celebrate. All these are positives and something that you need to focus on.
• Start a blog or journal documenting your writing journey. This is one of the reasons why I started my blog. I wanted to record my writing journey, so I could see how far I have come. There are many places where you can create free websites and blogs: wordpress.com, weebly.com, etc.
• Remember, you wouldn’t have achieved all that you have if you had given up. After receiving rejections, one after another (this was at the start of my writing journey) I was close to quitting (it all hurt just too much). However, if I had given up, then I wouldn’t be where I am today, and yeah, I’m not a novelist yet, but I’m doing better than I ever thought I would.
• Upload your stories (or poems) to websites, such as Shortbread stories. Websites like these allow you to receive feedback and positive comments about your work. I did this when I was on the verge of giving up, and it was a great confidence boost. There’s also WritersCafe.org. I haven’t used that website yet, but another writer has recommended it.
• Imagine what your life would be like without writing. This often works for me because the thought of never writing again fills me with dread. Writing has become a big part of my life, and without it I think I would feel quite empty.
• Remember why you write and enjoy it. Sometimes you can focus too much on being published to remember why you write in the first place. So instead of chasing deadlines, take a moment to enjoy the process. Go for a walk (with a notepad), and write the first story that comes into your mind, or read your old stories.

There are many ways to keep going, but no matter what you do, make sure that you do keep writing, keep editing, and keep submitting. Because, as Maya Angelou said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

To end this post, here is another inspirational quote:

“Nothing worthwhile comes easily. Work, continuous work and hard work, is the only way to accomplish results that last.” – Hamilton Holt

Hi, everyone! I’m back with some more self-doubt fighting advice.

So, what do I have for you today? Well, as you all know, I am part of a writing group, and one of the things we do is read out our stories. This is normally a story or poem that we wrote for our weekly homework. Now, as I’m sure you all know that the thought of reading out your work can be a terrifying prospect. However, even with the fear, every week I have read out my stories, but it has been pointed out that I need to work on how I read out my stories. I tend to speed read, but that wasn’t the only point that was made. Apparently, I don’t show any belief in my stories when I read them out. So I asked myself, “How can I gain confidence to read my stories better?”

After searching on Google, I found some useful advice, and this is what I will be sharing with you today.

So here it is, my list of tips on how to read aloud to an audience:

• Breathe and slow down: I have this issue. I’m so nervous and want to get the story finished as soon as possible that I forget to breathe, and I end up racing through the story. So if, like me, you forget what your lungs are for, then take a breath and then make sure you pace yourself. You need to use the punctuation as a guide to know when you need to stop and breathe. Practicing with a story (piece of writing) that isn’t yours might be a good start.
• Fake it ‘til you make it: Not everyone is born confident, so sometimes you have to pretend until you believe it. Play a character, or choose one of your existing characters, and pretend that it’s the character who is reading your story while you’re safely tucked away out of sight. Alternatively, you could tell yourself that you are confident and that you need to share your story so it can be enjoyed by the world.
• Find a friendly face: It can be scary to look out and see many faces staring up at you, but what could help is if you search for a friendly face(s) in the audience. You know the ones who smile at you, and give you that, ‘It’s okay’ look. Now you shouldn’t focus solely on that person while reading your story (this will creep the person out), but instead when you feel your nerves rising look out for that friendly face.
• Practice your performing voice: The first thing you need to make sure is that your voice is loud enough. You shouldn’t whisper or mumble the story because the audience won’t be able to follow what you are saying. It has been suggested that watching videos of other writers reading out their stories can be helpful for you to find out how to do it, and what could possibly work for you.
• Show some emotion and add action: You do not need to be an actor, but it has been suggested that adding emotion and action to your story, such as giving a different voice for each character, can help bring your story to life. So if, in your story, your character is angry, make sure you put on your angry voice. Some might find this tricky, I know I will, but if you have ever read to a child chances are you have already done it; you just need to do it in front of an audience. To see how you perform, it has been recommended that you video yourself reading out your work, and then you can see which areas you need to work on.
• Imagine the audience are naked: I wouldn’t try this point myself, but apparently by imagining that your audience members are naked it distracts you from the fear of what you are doing. I think I would prefer to imagine that the audience members are giant teddy bears, but it doesn’t matter what you do as long as it works. If you do go down the naked route, try not to allow yourself to get too distracted.
• Practice on a smaller group: This is where writing groups come in handy, especially if you have already built up a good relationship with the other members. However, if you are not part of a writing group, then you should see if your family and friends wouldn’t mind being your pretend audience.

As writers there will be a time, if it hasn’t already happened, where you will need to stand in front of an audience and read out your stories, so it is important that present your story well. However, like everything in life, it will take time. You may mumble your way through now, but with enough practice you will soon be reading out your stories like a professional. You may always feel nervous, but that’s okay, as long as you don’t allow fear to stop you from succeeding.

If you want more tips and advice, I have listed some links for you to explore. I found the third link the most useful.

To end this post, here is another inspirational quote:

“The way to develop self-confidence is to do the thing you fear.” – William Jennings Bryan

Links:

http://www.wikihow.com/Be-Confident-When-Reading-Out-Loud-in-Class

http://www.readin.ca/tips-on-how-to-read-aloud/

Tips on reading your work aloud

Hi everyone! I hope you have all been battling with Mr. Self-Doubt, and winning, while I’ve been missing from Horror Tree action. There never seems to be enough hours in the day, especially since I have now started working on my novel.

My novel, this brings us to what I want to talk to you about today. While working on my novel, I’ve been dealing with fear. Now this isn’t fear of writing the novel, no, this is fear of the next stage: the editing and submitting stage. You put more of yourself into a novel: time and hope, so if a failure comes, unlike a short story, rejection may feel worse. Well, that’s what I fear.

You spend more time writing and editing a novel than you would a short story, so what if you commit all of that time and end up with a novel that never sees the light of day. You also allow yourself to feel hope. You hope that one day the book you’re working on will be in the hands of a reader. However, with hope comes doubt. You start to wonder if your idea was good enough to be novel length. You read your first draft and cringe at all of the mistakes you have made, or the parts that don’t make sense. You ask yourself, “Should I waste my time on this? Is all of this worth it?” Mr. Self-Doubt will say no and laugh at you, but if you have made the effort to write the novel in the first place then the only way you should move is forward.

So today, I will share some of my ideas on how you can keep up the motivation for when you are editing your novel and preparing to publish or submit.

• Remember why you wrote the novel in the first place. You know that tingling excitement that you got at first when you came up with the idea or started to write the first words (mine started when I wrote Chapter One on the page). Yeah, remember that feeling. That felt good. Having a submission ready or publishable novel will feel better.
• Have breaks in between drafts. Working on the same piece over and over again can be draining at times, so try leaving the novel aside for a few weeks and work on something else, and then come back to the novel. However, you don’t want to put your novel on hold for too long.
• Remember that your first draft isn’t going to be perfect. There are going to be issues with it. This is why you need to do the second stage, so don’t be disheartened by your first draft. Instead, you should feel proud that you finished it in the first place. I have a post for you if you need help with beating the first draft blues. http://horrortree.com/setting-self-doubt-on-fire-first-draft-blues/
• Don’t be tempted to hide behind the editing. I’ve done this with short stories, kept them on the editing pile because I was too scared to submit them. Even now, I find myself doing the same thing. So edit your work thoroughly, yes, but don’t keep on editing. Plan to do a certain amount of drafts and then let your beta reader(s) have a read and see what they think, and then if you need to, edit again.
• Read and research. There’s lots of information out there which can help you with the editing and submitting process. You can find articles online. I find the ones by published authors useful because they often share the mistakes they have made. You can also buy books, which can help you with the publishing process and finding agents, etc.

You shouldn’t allow fear to stop you from following your dreams. Success happens to those who don’t give up and are willing to learn and improve, and you can’t do any of that if you allow self-doubt to hold you back. Editing a novel may cause you to scream at the computer, bang your head on the desk, and wonder why you are doing this, but no matter what, you need to keep fighting until you reach the end. Let’s fight, writers. Keep writing and keep the dream alive.

To end this post, here is another inspirational quote:

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” – Sven Goran Eriksson