5 of My Writing Insecurities and Strengths

Recently, Kristen Kieffer made a video on her YouTube channel about her writing insecurities. She encouraged other people to share what they feel insecure about as well so we can show we aren't perfect and can help one another. I thought it sounded like a great idea, so that's what I'm doing today (no matter how scary that may be). I'll also be talking about a few of my writing strengths, the places I feel like I write well. This is going to be interesting, so let's get started.

Insecurities

1. My novels aren't long enough.

I often feel like my novels aren't long enough for a publisher to be interested in. Despite the fact I like short books (something I plan on doing a post about later), I feel like I have to write a giant amount of words to stand up to publishing standards.

I know if it's a good novel and well written, it doesn't matter how long it is, but I still worry that if I don't hit the "normal" word count, no one will be interested in my book.

2. My novels aren't good enough to be published.

I'm always afraid that I won't be able to get published because my novels are lacking or badly written or something. I know I could just self-publish if I couldn't find anyone to publish my books, but it's been my dream to traditionally publish for a long time. I'm planning on working on my author site soon, and then finding an agent after that, and I'm mildly terrified about it.

3. My characters are flat.

I worry all the time that my characters don't come alive on paper like they do in my head. What if they don't have good arcs? What if people don't see them the way I do? What if I accidentally make them unlikable or bland?

4. My themes aren't coming through or I have the wrong theme.

Theme is something I believe strongly in, but it's really hard to write it without whacking someone over the head with the theme. I have a hard time figuring out what my theme is in the first place, and then worry that I have the wrong theme or that it's not showing up in my writing.

5. My novels aren't interesting.

I'm sure every writer has this fear. The fear that your novel is boring, predictable, or just plain bad. I'm pretty sure mine aren't bad, but what if they're cliche? Or boring? Or what if I go the complete opposite way and write something outlandish?

Strengths

1. I write good, clean fiction.

I've always said that I want to write novels anyone can feel safe about reading. So no cursing, sex, or glorifying bad things. I won't say I'm proud of myself for doing this, but I do feel called to it. This is one area I think I do well in.

2. Dialogue.

I think, and other people have said, I'm good at writing dialogue. When I'm writing conversations, the words just seem to flow. The tricky part is making the characters say the right things.

3. Good descriptions.

I also feel like I'm good at describing things, places, and people. I'm a visual person, so it helps me if I can see it. I love translating the image I have in my head onto the paper. I have to be careful not to info-dump, though.

4. I'm good at getting things down.

Most of the time, writing is easy for me. Novels, blog posts, short stories, the word just flow from my pencil. Or keyboard. This doesn't always happen, but most of the time I'm good at getting my words out. Which is interesting, because in real life, I'm rather shy. Editing those words is much harder for me.

5. Naming things.

I've got a knack for naming things. People, places, magical items, whatever. Names speak to me, and they're important for any novel. I'm even good at suggesting names for other people.

This has been an interesting post to write. The strengths were actually harder for me to pick. I don't always feel like a strong writer, but I work hard every day to get better.

Let's keep this thing going. I challenge you to write on your blog, make a video, or put a post on social media about your writing insecurities and strengths and encourage other people to do this same. And tell me if you do.

Let's talk! What are some of your writing insecurities? What about strengths? Tell me in the comments.