3 Internal Demons All Writers MUST Overcome

[@edspace.]

Not sure if this comes across too Catholic but its something my Granny once told me about comparisons between people "No two saints had the same calling."

[@heal41hp]

My self-doubt demon has taken a fun shape lately. I finally bought and started reading the first novel of another writer I watch, and I was totally into it at first. But I've started to feel like it's flat and that events are repetitious. I now worry my WIP is likewise flat, and I'm a little scared to get back into it to check.

[@Dyrnwyn]

That would only encourage me. “Even his stuff sucks! I’ll be just fine.”

[@Fyrsiel]

AHHHhhHHHHHH, yes, this is definitely stuff I needed to hear. My hugest demon right now is impatience. I've been working on my WIP for years, thinking I'm a failure because I should have been DONE by now, but I need to accept that this is going to take a VERY long time and I'm not going to be done anytime soon. At the same time, thank you because I need reassurance that I'm NOT a failure by taking years to get through this project. 😭

[@H-otApp-le-Pies]

I believe you can find a lot of things when you slow down. I have an idea I was struggling to write for awhile now because I wanted to finish it ASAP. But I could never solve things because I was so focused on finishing it. So I would write myself into plotholes that were minor, but didnt make sense, and I overworked myself (Im stuck in a burnout rut right now) Ive been rewritten that damn thing for years now! And I've finally accepted that I will not finish it anytime soon and I will have to change the medium I intended for it. And now im learning so much about my own writing progress and my characters! You got this!

[@joshuafallon6786]

Super vid as always. Always surprised you’re not on the express train to big time viewer-ship. It has all the trappings of a supernova channel.

[@duncanosis6773]

Thanks!

[@The_Novu]

Failure is the only real way to get better at anything as failure exposes problems that can be fixed. You die and figure out what killed you then move forwards until you die again, repeating until you get to the goal without dying. This is why making writing this habitual thing you do without regard to how you're feeling is something you should work on before you worry about finishing a novel or whatever else. If you want to do this professionally you'll have to be able to get up when you feel horrible and get words down even if it's only a hundred. As I type this I'm waiting for Imodium to kick in, dinner wasn't too kind to me. I wrote a hundred words and read a few pages of a William Gibson novel and I'm calling it to try again. I also count this as apart of my daily. Thank you Carl.

[@imaginepageant]

I’m struggling with #3 hardcore this month. I won five Nanowrimos between 2008-2014. Now I’m attempting 500 words a day on the second draft of a WIP. And I’m mostly failing. I keep reminding myself that I’m not a 20-something with a bunch of energy anymore but a perpetually exhausted 40-year-old mom of two, and that I’m not fast-drafting with the acceptance of writing garbage to be fixed later but actually doing that fixing now-so I shouldn’t expect my previous 1,667 words per day pace anymore. But it’s hard not to. I’m trying to focus more on effort than results, but that’s hard too.

[@sarahchambers4381]

Haha...The suit of armor joke was hilarious! I enjoy your sense of humor. Thanks for the encouragement!

[@duncanosis6773]

You are so welcome!

[@hibiscut5708]

I needed to hear this today. Thank you for your encouragement through pinpointing the lies that hold us back.

[@libbiesquirrelchaser]

Great advice, as usual. My biggest demon is self-doubt. At least three times a week, I'm ready to give up and throw it all away. I've managed to push through it enough to finish the second draft of my novel, but I'm not sure I'll ever get up the nerve to actually publish it.

[@normajdennis]

HAHAHAHAH OMG what are you doing back there!!!!

[@tamjg]

Cat: upstaging you!

[@TalesofTheEndTimes]

I have been finding lately, that rather than figuring out where to start: If I just start, the flow will come to me. … I usually have to delete/massively change those first few lines around. But that was going to be the case anyway. So, not really a loss.

[@lindildeev5721]

I'm mostly facing the first demon: the two others don't bother me. Well, I use comparison a little but it only makes me more confident: for example, I know how horrible some TV-shows and movies are so I'm 100% sure that my story won't be the worst ever written.

[@patharris8632]

Excellent Carl, Just when I needed It.

[@duncanosis6773]

Thanks!

[@schlumbl84]

Ive slayed most of them. Although I never call the self-doubt in my head a demon. I call it an evil and mean goblin, running wild. 😂 He is the most evil thing Ive ever encountered and likes to whisper a lot of bs into my ear. But Im always building clever goblin traps to keep that crazy guy imprisoned. A fact that heavily surprised me when I started writing and watching writer vlogs was how many people actually struggle to finish their book/first draft. Really, it took my by surprise. I never have any trouble finishing my drafts, since Im a pantser and want to know the end of my stories. 😂 Yup, sounds weird, I know. Its a nightmarish thought to abandon or even delete a half-finished draft. I could never imagine doing that. Even if it drains my time, my energy or even my mental well-being 🤣 - I want to finish every single one of my stories.

[@jamesanthony3]

Carl, if you post your novels somewhere I'd be happy to read and leave an honest review.

[@irsaahmed8284]

gold tier advice man, thanks

[@duncanosis6773]

You're welcome!

[@StefanTrifonov-t4r]

Love your videos, keep them coming

[@duncanosis6773]

Thanks!

[@smokinggnu6584]

On the self-doubt bit... i just wrote to get the story out. I savethe doubt for afterwards. "It's probably garbage and the people paying me complments are probably just doing so to be nice aboutit." Not helpful but at least i have a 'finished' product on handto agonize over.

[@brantjustilian3791]

I guess you got a cat familiar. lol 😂

[@shanonkiyoshi4784]

What books have you written? Any genre fiction like fantasy or sci-fi? If so how can I find you on Amazon? Or are there other places I can find your work? Sincerely, an Avid Reader ✨️📚😁👍📚✨️

[@PaulRWorthington]

Admit it, you made that thumbnail only to have dozens of us connect "Internal Demons" with your cat large in the foreground. 🤣 My demons are two big orange cats... I mean, the twin problems of procrastination and lack of drive. Maybe it's one demon: laziness. I have plenty of time... But that means I have no deadline, and it's not like this hobby pays my bills, so the only motivations are that I enjoying doing it, and even more so, that I enjoy the sense of accomplishment when I complete a novel. But those two joys are always struggling against those two demons.

[@useeee616]

Carl is such a legend. Hes going to be on my coach and editor team in the future!!! If he accepts my projects. Such a no bullshit straight shooter. Like talking to a cowboy…. About.. books. 🤨 HE DONT MISS!

[@Drudenfusz]

I should write and not procrastinate watching KZbin videos...

[@momo_genX]

Your cat exposes you as the divorced writer in the Rennaisance Fair. Or at Lowes as a Menonite.

[@useeee616]

Comparison is something I only allow when I look on my previous development. My expectations are only that I continue to develop. Such purity, such flow and motion when I enter the office.

[@kateribarry]

"it's going to be terrible, but in a very personal way." 🥲