How Does A Writer Know They Are Good Enough? by UCLA Professor Richard Walter

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In this Film Courage video interview, UCLA screenwriting chair Richard Walter on how does a writer know if they are good enough?
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[@nicholasborelli275]

I agree with Professor Walter. If you have to ask if you should continue to be a writer . . . I've written six novels, one work of nonfiction and four screenplays. I've had two literary agents, neither of whom could sell my work (so at my later stage in life I self published; who has time?). I've committed a million words to paper in the past twenty years, writing and rewriting and I have two more novels in the works. Yet, by any measure, I'm utterly unsuccessful as a novelist and screenwriter. I just can't stop. I don't want to stop. Creating a world in my series of novels and screenplays just gives me enormous satisfaction.

[@seen921]

Never stop writing and then never stop editing. It's a fantastic obsession.

[@VelocityWriting]

I have been a professional writer for over 30 years. Let me tell you plainly: "You are good enough right now."

[@rogersjgregory]

He's right though. Writing is a lonely business. It's just you and the computer. Your thoughts, your ideas, your words. Once you create the world and fill it with characters, then it becomes fun. But stepping away from your story and saying, "It's done. Finished." That's sometimes the hardest thing to do, because we all like to tinker with it, hoping that we can make it better.

[@Michelle-fr1fw]

I think some people, including myself sometimes, want others to tell us we’re not good enough so it would give us an excuse to stop following our dreams because it’s hard.

[@hookbeak3516]

Writing should be an intrinsic necessity in life, without it I'd feel lost & depressed. Sometimes I crave the urge to write, like artist to paint, sculptor to carve. It can obsessive, relentless, even sometimes oppressive like the sun to a delicate flower, that needs water. This just popped out of my head, hope it makes sense to those that write, even those that don't.

[@ernarc23]

Two important take-aways from this wonderful interview: 1) If you need to ask if you're a good enough writer to make it, the answer is "No." (2) Writers write not because they think they're going to 'make it'; writers write because "they can't help themselves." Thank you, Mr. Walter. xo

[@cheryldahl9192]

Some people need the support. I never had anyone who supported my dream of writing, and even though I could not live without writing, I learned to go without it. It was miserable, so when my college professor encouraged me to write, she opened the door of hope! I had never had anyone give me permission to follow my dream to write! For some reason I felt like I needed someone to support my desire to follow my dream. Today, no one can tell me not to write... it's as important as eating to me. If someone is asking you if they should continue writing, they might just need a voice of support to follow their dream. You might be the first person in their life who gives them hope.

[@somecallmetim451]

Personally, I deal with self-doubt by saying to myself I AM a nobody. I am a young writer, only 21 years old. I have been creatively writing since my Junior year of high school, and I've always been in love with storytelling. That's the first step that Professor Walter was talking about. You have to want to tell stories. But something I dealt with for a long time was this feeling that my stories weren't going to be any good. I have posted work on a Medium profile, on Creepypasta, on Reddit, and shown plenty of unpublished work to friends. But no matter how many little comments I got of people saying I had some talent, I always felt like I wasn't getting enough praise. Of course, that's an extremely egotistic attitude to have about anything, and it is especially egotistic in the creative world. So, it took me getting over myself. I had to say to myself in the mirror, and I still often do, that I was a nobody. No one owed me any praise, no one will ever know if I'm talented if I never put myself out there. It felt like a weight had come off my shoulders at that moment.

[@lateonaname]

Omgoodness I only started the video and it’s a tremendous relief to hear someone say it is Always painful 😳 I thought that maybe I was just a tragic one and/or too little experienced

[@colegautereaux3487]

How do I avoid self-doubt? I don't. I sit there and embrace it, putting my pen to paper until it's gone. And then I go to sleep, because I can finally get comfortable.

[@operation1968]

I've been writing stories since first grade and have spent the last five or six years writing my first novel, polishing it little by little. My personal take on this is, at least when it comes to writing books, is that you feel you're ready to publish if you are ready to fail. Everyone loves their own creation most of the time, that's just part of the game. But over the years I've learned that a writer's worst enemy can be his own ego rather than writers writer's block. Believing in your work is one thing and important as well. But if you reached a point where you feel like there's nothing left to add and you feel confident enough to take the leap to publish but also to fall flat on your ass, then you might be ready

[@amandataebby]

I'm happy to here it's normal to step away from what you're writing and write something else. I've been going through that lately. I've been writing two other things apart from my current script, and it's refreshing to come back to it after a little break.

[@raviputcha]

I wish I studied creative writing under him 20 years back. What an amazing professor!

[@rossdaniels3519]

That really helped. I've wondered several times why I don't just give up. But I can't help it. Even if I tell myself I'm not going to do it anymore, I think of something and just have to write it down. A book I thought I'd abandoned still comes to mind and I find myself mindlessly continuing it. I just can't help myself. I have to write.

[@brycef3551]

I really like this man. I will say, when I was in my 20s I was constantly seeking approval and encouragement because of low self-esteem. The truth is, I probably wasn't good enough - one teacher who liked me made me feel like the best the class, but the next one didn't and I was the worst. Now I'm in my 30s and I know myself better, and I know I can't stop writing. If I don't write I'm miserable. It's a compulsion, I need to write. I also notice though, now that I'm a better writer, people act like I've always been talented and was born good at it. It's like people can't deal that we improve at things, and "god-given talent" isn't as significant as many people seem to think.

[@urorazbojnik5678]

"You should be a writer because you can't help yourself, there's nothing else you can do, you just can't stop yourself, you just have to write" ..I came here with bunch of questions really, and yes the question "am I good enough, should I write" is always going to be amidst those questions, but I didn't start writing yesterday because I sat down and told myself "hey I want to be a writer, I will write something now", no. I sat down and started to write because i had this story in my head for years and it always excited me and I never really found anything out there that would make me say, this is similar I'm glad it's out there so that I don't have to embarrass myself by grabbing my guts and few pens and writing pages of what might be an utter crap to anyone who knows anything about books. I read only 2 by my free will and it was almost 10 years ago so...God knows how this will turn out, but now I know. I have to write it.

[@hebersandoval6485]

Can’t get enough of this interviews, simply the best content KZbin has to offer as far as writing goes

[@andrewdomville3663]

Powerful interview!

[@shaf8200]

the owner really glossed out the word "God-willing" for "gosh-willing" in the captions. Nice