Subject: On insecurity.
Author: Neshomeh
Posted on: 2014-09-17 18:40:00 UTC

A lot of writers, and artists in general, are insecure about their abilities. To some degree, this is a good thing: it can push you to take steps to make sure you don't screw up for stupid reasons like failing to do the research, use a beta-reader, or double-check the meaning of that unusual word you just used. There's a good saying that goes roughly like this: the minute you think you're done improving is the minute you start to suck.

Of course, it can also be really discouraging. One way to avoid letting self-doubt hold you back is to choose very carefully whose opinions you put stock in. Personally, my ranking goes something like this:

1. Concrit from people I don't know. (Not likely to be biased.)
2. Concrit from friends and family. (Probably biased, but those who know me best know that I value honesty over flattery.)
3. My own judgement. (I am often my own harshest critic, so I trust others more than myself to tell me when I've done well.)
4. Exclusively negative comments from anyone. (Not pleasant, but can still be used to find areas to improve as long as they're more than mindless flames.)
5. Exclusively positive comments from anyone. (Nice to hear, but unreasoned "This is so awesome!" type comments are completely useless and, IMO, more insulting than flames.)

Hope that helps. {= )

~Neshomeh

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