Conquering Insecurity (well, managing it a bit, at least!) by Georgie Tennant

We writers can be touchy sorts.  We wrestle with self-doubt and internal criticism.  We write our words, cross them out, alter them for the better - then wonder if, in fact, we’ve altered them for the worse. We compare our words to those of others and fear ours come up short.

Eventually, (especially if we’re new to making our work public), we press ‘publish,’ or ‘send,’ heart pounding and mouth dry.  If we make it that far, we then spend hours, even days, living in fear of Not Being Read (capitals intended).  Symptoms of this include: finding yourself unable to leave the immediate vicinity of a phone or computer; coming out in a cold sweat when the number of ‘views’ fails to move in the upward direction on each nervous click of the refresh button; and the overwhelming fear that you have inadvertently activated the digital equivalent of the Harry Potter invisibility cloak.

I know we have a number of new ‘More Than Writers’ bloggers on board (to whom we extend a warm welcome and our thanks for adding your talent and creativity to our wonderful blog), who may be able to relate to the scenario I’ve just sketched, as well as many here who have blogs and other publications of their own.  I thought it might be useful to offer some of my hard-won wisdom and consolation for the days when you feel your heart-felt words haven’t landed at all and the ‘Not Being Read’ fear looms large with its cold and negative presence.

Problems and Fresh Perspectives

PROBLEM:  Your post has received no comments on Blogger

BEST WAY OF LOOKING AT IT: Safari, particularly, has an intense hatred of these particular nuggets of encouragement.  You have to sell all your data to seven foreign monarchies before you can gain permission to leave a comment here.  Don’t assume that no comment means your work hasn’t been read and enjoyed.

PROBLEM: Your post has received no likes on Facebook.

BEST WAY OF LOOKING AT IT: Mark Zuckerburg was probably having a bad day and commissioned his empire of minions to change everyone’s settings to only see last Wednesday’s posts.  Yours will appear a week next Thursday.  Hold on for the ride.

PROBLEM: Depressing Blogger Statistics about the number of views of your post

BEST WAY OF LOOKING AT IT: It’s Sunday.  Everyone is at church.  It’s Tuesday.  Everyone is at work.  It’s a snow day.  Everyone is out sledging.  It’s a heatwave.  Everyone is at the beach.  You get the idea!  None of us knows what challenges and obstacles our potential readers might be facing on the day you press ‘publish’.  Be patient and trust that your words will make their way out into the world in their own good time.

PROBLEM: Your own mind telling you a combination of the following: no-one likes your writing, no-one agrees with your viewpoint, no-one, in fact, gives two figs about you or your writing and you’re going to be ostracised, friendless and blacklisted from all future blogs and publications because your writing is so terrible.

BEST WAY OF LOOKING AT IT:  Stop. Breathe. The Not Being Read fears are having a field day and, simply, none of this is true.  “Take captive every thought,” (2 Corinthians 10), bring it back to the One who gave you the gift of writing in the first place and trust Him to take your writing wherever it needs to go.  If, on your particular blog day, a lone goat-herd in the Lithuanian mountains is the sole recipient of your carefully crafted words and they change his life – so be it!  He (God, not the Lithuanian goat-herd!) alone knows who needs to read your words and when (see my previous post on The Butterfly Effect for more on this).

Perhaps I’m preaching to the converted and you’ve all learned these tricky (if flippantly presented) lessons long ago.  But if anything I have said resonates with any other insecure writers out there, do chip in in the comments (assuming the seven foreign monarchies allow) and give us your hints and tips for staying on the right side of sanity, each time we launch our words out into the world.

Georgie Tennant is a secondary school English teacher in a Norfolk Comprehensive.  She is married, with two sons, aged 11 and 8 who keep her exceptionally busy. She writes for the ACW ‘Christian Writer’ magazine occasionally, and is a contributor to the ACW-Published ‘New Life: Reflections for Lent,’ and ‘Merry Christmas, Everyone: A festive feast of stories, poems and reflections.’ She writes the ‘Thought for the Week’ for the local newspaper from time to time and also muses about life and loss on her blog: www.somepoemsbygeorgie.blogspot.co.uk