It's as simple as that. Doesn't matter if you have been riding that horse for years. If you take a break, there's always a sliver of doubt and concern in the back of your mind.
If you are a regular visitor to my site, you know that I have a writing schedule that I swore up and down that I would get through. I broke that promise in June, with one of my two week challenges. The more frequent challenges must have gotten to me. I was fresh out of ideas and had zero motivation.
I decided within the first week of not being able to start a month long challenge to take a break. It was hard to come to terms with that and I felt like a failure. I know now that everyone needs to step back once in a while. Which has turned out to be a good and a bad thing once again.
I posted four pieces between last night and this morning. These are pieces that I wrote during the month on a whim. While I am happy that I wrote them and was satified with them after I had finished them, I am doubtful of them now.
I fear that my tone of voice and subject matter is the same as it has always been. I fear that I have not grown. I fear that it's too simple. I fear that it's too complicated. I fear that it will be misunderstood and that no one will like even one of them.
These fears are natural. I may have everything or nothing to worry about. But this always happens when I step away from writing for a while. While posting these pieces up, I came to a realization: In one's craft, you will always experience these fears. You will always worry about how others will take your work. You will always have a small shred of doubt in the back of your mind. Knowing this and practicing your craft anyway is the key to growth, in addition to constant learning and relearning of skills.
So get back on the horse. Your fear should be what if you don't get back on, not what happens when you do get back on. Giving up is scarier than trying.
If you are a regular visitor to my site, you know that I have a writing schedule that I swore up and down that I would get through. I broke that promise in June, with one of my two week challenges. The more frequent challenges must have gotten to me. I was fresh out of ideas and had zero motivation.
I decided within the first week of not being able to start a month long challenge to take a break. It was hard to come to terms with that and I felt like a failure. I know now that everyone needs to step back once in a while. Which has turned out to be a good and a bad thing once again.
I posted four pieces between last night and this morning. These are pieces that I wrote during the month on a whim. While I am happy that I wrote them and was satified with them after I had finished them, I am doubtful of them now.
I fear that my tone of voice and subject matter is the same as it has always been. I fear that I have not grown. I fear that it's too simple. I fear that it's too complicated. I fear that it will be misunderstood and that no one will like even one of them.
These fears are natural. I may have everything or nothing to worry about. But this always happens when I step away from writing for a while. While posting these pieces up, I came to a realization: In one's craft, you will always experience these fears. You will always worry about how others will take your work. You will always have a small shred of doubt in the back of your mind. Knowing this and practicing your craft anyway is the key to growth, in addition to constant learning and relearning of skills.
So get back on the horse. Your fear should be what if you don't get back on, not what happens when you do get back on. Giving up is scarier than trying.
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