It’s Friday, friends! Time to . . . do exactly what you’ve been doing for the last month. But maybe with a little weekend sizzle.

Before we jump into today’s blog post, let me first congratulate the winner of last week’s giveaway.

CONGRATULATIONS, EMILY GRANT!

You are the random winner of Kara Swanson’s DUST! I dropped you an email last night, so check your inbox for details.

And thank you to everyone for making Kara’s giveaway so fun.

And now, for today’s monster. That’s right, I said MONSTER. For the next few Fridays we’re going to talk about the monsters that make life difficult for all us.

First up, DOUBT.

I have these moments, friends. Moments where I feel like an author.

They come hard and fast, surprising me with their intensity. Like drops of sunlight through the shade of a tree. You know that feeling right? You’re riding in a car, eyes shut, almost dozing, and suddenly a battering of light through the branches startles you upright, the light there and then gone.

In these rare moments, I FEEL like a writer. Like a published author. Like someone who has the enviable job of writing stories for a living.

They’re wonderful, these moments. They bring with them a simple, pure, always fleeting feeling of confidence.

They remind me that I can do this. I can write another story. I can BE this person.

I work hard to respect these moments. To honor them by sitting down in my office chair and dumping words onto a page. Because the truth of the matter is, these inspirited moments are fragile. They dissolve at the very hint of negativity, at the first wind of frustration, at the stink of words like trending and bestseller.

It takes very little to scare my muse away. And without that confidence, without the itch of inspiration compelling me to write, it can be a fight to keep my head in the game.  

I’m not alone in this, I know that. This isn’t even a problem unique to writers, but the truth is, these battles are fought in a place where you are of little help to me and I am of little help to you. Bloody battles are fought daily between my ears. In the noisy, crowded, aching place where my thoughts churn and churn with little relief.

And when I’m losing, my very own mind flips those once sunny moments inside out and uses them against me.  

We writers spend so much (too much?) time here. In our own heads. We dissect everything we read, everything we watch, everything we hear. We try to fashion it and shape it and invert it into something usable. Into something we can write about.

We pass a man yammering to himself on the sidewalk and, within minutes, we’ve concocted an entire backstory and plot. We know how we’d write this man.  

Or we don’t. And that kills us.  

We sulk away and claim writers block. We doubt we ever had THAT THING. That spark, that gift, that mojo.  

We doubt. We doubt. We doubt.  

We’re afraid to fail. So we stop writing. But that only angers the beast inside us and we’re reminded that just because we may not write in practice, we cannot simply walk away from the lens we view this world through. Whether you sit and write or not, your brain will not let you be. And so you have a choice: to write through the doubt or to let it gnaw on your gut as you wait for another passing moment of enthusiasm.  

Should you take breaks? Yes, absolutely. Weeks? Sometimes. Months? Maybe. But should you ever let doubt be the reason you walk away? I think, no. Doubt is a monster we should never, ever feed. I don’t know that there is one answer to the problem of self-doubt. But I think there are things that can help.  

1. Re-define success. This word doesn’t have to mean what you’ve always assumed it meant. Redefine it. What is success to you? To me success is mattering, making a difference to someone. That’s success. I’m a Christian so I want to honor Christ. Success. I want to be of value to my publisher. That’s real, that’s success.

Your definition of success might not match mine, but you should take a moment to figure out what it is. And be willing to adjust your definition as you grow.  

2. Write through the doubt. It’s hard to swallow sometimes, but the only way to chase away the I CAN’Ts is to prove that YOU CAN. So prove it to yourself. Put something on the page. And then put something else on the page. And give it time before you decide if it’s any good. Just put down the words. Judge them later.

3. Write fearlessly. Being afraid to fail is very real, but if you let it hold you back, fear wins. Want some truth? We’re all afraid. Doing it anyway is what makes us brave.  

4. Look for inspiration. Those of us who write as a career have to learn something early on. Inspiration will not pay the bills. That said, perhaps you’re missing daily inspiration by assuming it will look as it always has.

Right now, with the world so upside down, it can be hard to find any inspiration, and generally speaking, you might have to look a little harder. Normally, I’d suggest going out. Being with people. I’d tell you to scrounge through bookstores and libraries. I’d tell you to go on field trips. Investigate the world around you.

But all of that is a little challenging right now. So, we have to generate some of our own inspiration. I’ll be honest, it’s been very hard for me. I need adventure in order to thrive on the page, but this week I realized I was going to have to generate creative energy in an entirely different way.

I downloaded THE ARTISTS WAY by Julia Cameron, and I listen to it when I’m on the treadmill. The author recommends starting the day with a free-writing session, a practice I used to do much more consistently. Because my well has been so dry, I picked it up again after hearing the suggestion. And it has helped. It’s made these challenging circumstances easier to process.

Consider deep diving into an inspiring podcast or craft book. Maybe search for videos of televised creativity in any form. Theatre, painting, woodworking, whatever you find compelling. Watching others connect with their art can spark something in you.

The truth is, inspiration may attack us on occasion, but that’s less common for many of us right now. I say we stage a muse hunt, make her really work if she’s to stay hidden.

And finally,  

5. Inspire someone else. Be the wind in someone else’s sails for a while. Put your pride, your competitive nature, your angst, fear, and doubt aside and lift someone up. Give them a sunshine moment. Not because you’re fishing for inspiration from their lips, but because we all need a little encouragement from time to time.

And because others need to know just how valuable their contributions to the world are, tell them.

These are just a few of the things that help me when I’m lost in the darkness of my own mind.

What have I missed? What advice would you give? Today, let’s choose action in the face of paralyzing doubt.

Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include the Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novel Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.

Shannon’s stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. She’s often wondered if she’s writing her own quest for bravery again and again.

It’s a choice she values highly. Bravery. And she’s never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.

To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writer’s Digest four years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.

For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.