“I don’t believe in my story.”

I think this often. Apparently, so do a lot of writers. It doesn’t help that all I tend to see is how your story requires a strong message that you believe in. I tend to believe in it at first, and then see that message so often that I begin to doubt myself, and my story’s message and purpose. How can it be as heartfelt as something like Harry Potter? As lasting as something like Star Wars? How can I ask others to believe in it if I don’t believe it in myself? …What’s the message again?!

      There’s one great piece of advice I can give you:

      Do it anyway.

      Why? I’ll tell you why. Doing so;

Teaches discipline and routine: Finish everything you start. If you’re writing something you have no intention of finishing, you all ready know you shouldn’t be writing it. If you begin to doubt later in the project, that’s different. Set time aside every day to keep writing; even if you start up another project. Show your project and your work respect. This will get you into the good habit of not simply throwing an idea away at the first or fifth doubt. It will teach you to be excited for your new project, too. 

Makes you proud: Imagine standing there with a finished manuscript. Even if you’re not happy with it. Even if you never intend to publish it — you have achieved something! That confidence will help you throughout the rest of your writing career. 

Helps your writing and project skills: You can hone your skills only by practise! The end product and what you do with it almost doesn’t matter; because you will learn so much about your own voice and style. You will learn how to show character. You will learn how helpful different methods of prep and outlining are to you and most importantly — you will find out what is hardest for you. For instance; my issues arise around scenes where dialogue has to explain something that needs to happen in the plot. 

Gives you editing practise: Once you have a manuscript, no matter how strongly you began to doubt your project; I guarantee you you will feel better. Better enough to read through it and edit it. This will teach you a lot about your work and your own style of editing. 

Might be brilliant anyway: And then you might ADORE your work! You might see in it what you first saw in yourself when beginning to write. And, if you don’t, someone else might. There is only hope for a story once it is written, after all. And if it turns out that it’s not any good, or no one is too interested, well, you’ve learned things!

Gives you work for a portfolio: There will always be someone out there interested in your work, no matter how much you or others don’t rate it. Every piece of work is a candidate for a portfolio. So many writers these days online always talk about their great ideas, and you ask them for past work, and they look at you as if they’ve never written a page in their lives. To be a writer; you write. You write well, you write badly, you write strangely, and you hold tight to your work because it’s a part of you.