We writers are such curious creatures.
I sat down to write this evening, my fingers itching to add a grand new scene to my story. Fully ready to reach the heights of my creative genius (and plumb its depths) and break through all my blocks.
Barely thirty minutes in, all that motivation had drained out. Quick as a snap.
What happened, you ask?
Well, I realized it wasn’t very good.
I scrolled through previous pages and cringed at romantic scenes, squinted dubiously at awkwardly phrased sentences, felt a metaphorical piece of my soul die at the all too many out-of-character dialogue bits, and all in all, decided that everything was forced and cheesy and awful.
Everything I’d once looked upon fondly on earlier days – all my favorite passages – now seemed…hopeless.
It could never be the book I dream it will be, I thought.
How could this mess be edited? And how could I let anyone read it?
You know, these mood swings happen every now and then, don’t they?
But that’s all they are. The truth hasn’t changed, just your mood.
You may decide your writing is irredeemable, but I want to remind us all that it’s gonna be okay. Your story will turn out just fine. I might feel terrible about my poor darling right now, but I’m not giving up. I’m going to try again tomorrow. I’m going to press on, when it’s hard. And one day, I’m going to look back on this post and smile to myself, because I will see how God pulled this story through far better than I could have on my own.
This is what it’s like to be in the trenches of writing.
Grueling.
And so worth it.
King’s Daughters’ Writing Camp!
*pops in a month after writing this post and watching it grow dust in the WordPress “drafts” pile because it was a slightly-out-of-the-ordinary post but I finally decided to post it anyway*
Speaking of the woes and joys of writing, I just realized it would be a great idea to mention a writing camp for Christian ladies that’s about to begin! It’s called King’s Daughters’ Writing Camp, and you can check out their website HERE to learn about how they do things.
I hope you sign up for this March’s writing camp (run on Slack, by the way), and if you do, I can’t WAIT to talk with you and spur each other on in our writing projects! Always better to be together in the trenches of writing than alone, eh?
How is your WIP going right now? What’s most challenging about it? What’s been the biggest victory for you thus far? Which characters do you feel the urge to rant most about?
Saraina Whitney 
Saraina, I just want to say that you timed this post PERFECTLY. Literally, here I am, trying to write the second draft of a book I plan to publish this year, and I finished a chapter feeling really…. bleh. Then, I checked email, and was like “Wait a post about trenches of writing? Yes, please!”
While I am not going to be at KDWC this month, this was really good encouragement to me. Thanks so much! (Like I said, the timing was perfect. Seriously. It must’ve been a God thing XD)
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Awww, I am SO glad this came at just the right time for you, Anna! (I actually never planned to post it, but just decided to at the last minute 😂 So yes, definitely arranged by God XDD) Ahh, okay! Praise God! You’re so very welcome, girl!!! <333
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Haha! That’s funny!
I’ll definitely need the motivation from now until my book and anthology are published XD
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Ooo yes!! That is such an exciting thing to look forward to!!!
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I loved this post!! This is me so often through editing. Well, and even while I was writing this draft I felt this so many times. But, just like you said, I love looking back and seeing how far God’s brought me. Even now, I have so far to go and yet I can look back and see how far I’ve come. It’s amazing! Keep going, Saraina!! You’ve got this!!! 🤗💙
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Ahhh right?!! Amen, looking back is so encouraging because then we see how far God has brought us! Aww, thank you SO MUCH!! That means a lot to me, Allyson! 🤗💖 *hugs*
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As someone who struggles a lot with perfectionism, I find this painfully relatable. Drafts are just the beginning of the journey, and sometimes it already feels like too much. But we can only keep going and build up our stamina 🙂 And we thank God for the progress we’ve made, or the lessons we’ve learned, in the process. You got this!
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The struggle is so real. 😭 Yes, that’s so true!!! I hate that you feel that too, but it IS nice to know that so many other writers go through the same thing XD Thank you so much, Merie!! You got this too!! <333
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Omg…I so relate! Me…about 98% of the time, honestly sometimes I hate my own writing and feel my descriptions are horrible…it always helps to show someone my writing (usually a fellow writer) because they usually end up loving the stuff I hate…so it evens out…lol…the whole you are eyour own worst critic thing is a real killer sometimes.
Honestly, Emberling is killing me…I can’t get the ending right and the middle is there but not flowing into the ending like it should…I’m hoping KDWC will be what I need to finish!
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Ack, that’s so relatable, Kayti!!! Honestly, it’s so relieving knowing other writers go through these phases of hating their own writing, because then you can see you can still push through – just because you think your writing is bad doesn’t mean it IS. YES, AMEN!
Aww…I’ll be praying about that, then! ❤ Hopefully things will just click soon. 😉 Ohh, that means both you and I will both be working to finish our books! We can cheer each other on! 😀
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Indeed! It is always so encouraging to see someone express the same things I’m thinking and feeling. Yes!
Thank you! Oh, yay! We can do this!
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Exactly!! <333
Yes!!!! *pumps fist in air*
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So true! Or we talk ourselves out of an idea because we either don’t have the entire plot planned out or we’re just too terrible a writer to execute it the way it deserves. To quote Jodi Picoult, “You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.” So, even if we feel drained, we still need to write because that’s progress, and anything we write can only be polished and improved upon.
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Ugh, yes, that is the worst! Because then we’re not even giving ourselves a chance to try! Lol, that quote is a lifesaver…praise God for that! 😂 Getting those words down is more important than getting everything right. (Otherwise, I would not be a writer. XD) Thank you so much for reading, Madi!! ❤
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Ahhhh, this is relatable. It’s so hard to tell whether our writing is any good—the quality seems to rise and fall with our feelings, and our feelings are notoriously pesky things. That’s why we have editors. (And friends.)
And I’m so excited for KDWC!! 😀 I’m a first timer, but I have no doubt it’ll be epic.
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Oof, that’s so true! You phrased that so well – our feelings are notoriously pesky things XD I know, right?!! Thank God for editors and friends!! 😀
EEEEEE YOU’LL BE THERE?!! Yay!!! Oh, it shall be epic indeed! 😄
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Yep, been there and done that! Sometimes, I want to throw the whole story out the window because I thought it sounded so bad XD *cough cringe cough* Thanks so much for this relatable post, Saraina 🙂
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Augh, I want to do that too sometimes!!! 😂 I guess it takes some bravery to see the potential and keep it out of the trash can…or window XD Thank YOU so much for reading it, Lily!! ❤
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I totally feel this right now!
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Aww! I’m right there with ya!! 🤗
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