Every so often there comes that moment where you just hate this book you’re writing, you’re beginning to doubt you’ve got what it takes to actually do anything right, and it feels like everything you type comes out as a pile of scrap. And maybe you just want to throw it all away. For me, this usually comes when I’m deep in edits and am thoroughly fed up of trying to make this book work. In that moment, it’s so easy to just give up. I’ve been there. I know.
But please, don’t.
Yes, what you make isn’t perfect. It’s not meant to be.
Yes, you’ve got a lot left to learn. Everyone does.
Yes, you’re tired of looking at your book, judging it, hating it for its flaws and imperfections. Everyone thinks their work is the worst at some point.
Yes, what someone else has written looks so much better than your thing. Someone is looking at yours and wondering how you got to be so good.
You hate your book because you’ve seen it so often. You’ve struggled in the darkest hours of the night to find the right way to handle this idea that simply will not leave you alone. You’ve been staring at your writing for days and days, searching for the flaws until they’re all you see. You are so close to your work that you miss the beauty of it in all the details of commas and semi-colons. All you can remember are the problems, the flaws, the wrongness. So that’s what you think all your work is.
Stop.
Take a step back.
Take a breath. Go away for a while. See something else. Go outside for a while. Sit in silence and hear music, birds, or the people around you. Recharge your creative batteries. Stop looking at what you’ve written. Stop judging it. In fact, take some time away from it. Maybe just a few minutes. Maybe a few hours, days, or weeks even. However long you need. It’ll be waiting for you when you get back.
But whatever you do, don’t give up. Your book is better than you think it is, I promise. It has so much potential. It is worth all the time, effort and love you have poured into it. Step back and let yourself forget for a little while. And then, come back with a fresh mind and a brighter outlook. Look at it like an outsider, not as a critic. Your work has a beauty to it that you miss when you’re too close.
Maybe today you want to give up. But please, don’t. Because while you see the cracks in what you’re making, we see the glorious whole. And trust me, it is beautiful. It is worth it. You are worth it.
Please, never, ever give up.
