Insecure Writer’s Support Group: Conflicted

It’s First Wednesday, so time for another Insecure Writer’s Support Group post!

August 2 question: Have you ever written something that afterwards you felt conflicted about? If so, did you let it stay how it was, take it out, or rewrite it?

I almost always feel conflicted about something in my writing! I worry that it’s not advancing the plot sufficiently, or that it’s not suspenseful enough, or that it may just be superfluous. I generally try rewriting it first, but if that doesn’t work, I cut it out and file it in my “deleted scenes” files (I have a lot of those for each novel). 

There’s a difference, however, between feeling conflicted because you recognize that you can do better, and feeling conflicted because you just don’t trust yourself as a writer. If you’re feeling conflicted because of insecurity, you need to learn how to step away from the work and look at it objectively, as a reader. It’s not the easiest trick, but once you learn how, it will really help you as a writer.

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