Profile Guide | ZeninaD

Just Something I Want To Say

Whatever chapter I post under this Random Thoughts section doesn't necessarily have a reason behind it but this one does.

So I have been wanting to do this for a long time now and today I finally pulled all the stops to get this out. Life has been quite busy ever since my seventh semester started at university and trust me, we don't get any break at all from the constant assignments and submissions.

Finding time to write has been difficult but I try to manage because by now writing has become a part of my everyday life and any day that I'm not able to write something feels very odd.

Anyhow, let's make one thing clear first and foremost; this chapter isn't about me. 

In fact, this chapter is written for all of you and literally anyone of you who can relate to the situation.

So recently I came across a question that many writers ask themselves: is my work good enough to be published?

Now I know some people would say that it's pretty normal for a writer to think like that and it is actually him or her reflecting on their work and trying to make it better. I see many people pass it off as something which drives writers to improve their work and eventually flourish.

But I'll be honest with you guys, to me this question hurts.

Just the amount of uncertainty and doubt these words hold feels quite painful to me because let's face it; you're a writer.

You're a person who has this magical gift of building worlds full of intriguing characters and scenarios that hook a reader's attention and you have this wonderful power of making your audience experience a life they've never lived but get the chance to do so through your story. You have the craft to melt hearts through your words, to write in a way that affects the soul and to tell amazing stories that many people come to cherish and rejoice.

That's how gifted you are when you're a writer. And in order to reach this level, you spend hours crafting your stories. You put your heart and soul into it and you paint your words like an artist.

But even after all these hours of hard work into creating something magical, instead of feeling fulfilled, you feel doubtful.

You feel this nagging feeling in your heart that pinches you and says: will it be good enough to be published?

It's almost as if you're asking: am I good enough?

This simple question results in many writers doubting their work and eventually feeling less motivated to keep writing. And this lack of motivation leads them to stop writing altogether which is terrible because once a writer stops writing, it's almost as if him or her has suppressed their talent due to the fear of what people will think if their work isn't good enough.

Now some of you might think I've gotten too carried away and am thinking from a very sentimental perspective. But please, take a moment to think about this.

Take a moment to imagine that you're holding your manuscript for which you have sacrificed sleep and put every ounce of your love and effort into it. And now that the finished product is in your hands, you are still doubting yourself. You're still thinking that after everything you've done, it still isn't enough.

And the hurt you can feel then is the hurt I feel when I see people asking this question.

So many of you wonderfully talented and young authors are here on this site, writing what I believe is your very best. And yet so many of you don't give yourself credit for it.

So many of you don't own all the effort that went into creating your story. And trust me, when you create something and you fear or hesitate to own it then it is a tragedy for both you being the creator of what could have been a masterpiece as well as the story itself which gets pushed down because the writer feels a bit of a doubt.

No matter if it is a fifty chapters or just fifteen chapters, it is something you gave time and effort to. It is something you spent your hours into tailoring it to be the best version of themselves. And no matter if it is read by your audience it not, it is still something you have brought into existence and introduced to the world.

You want this story to be read and appreciated, you want to see it among the bestsellers. You have given your fullest to create what you envision as a worth reading book.

But how can that story be appreciated by the audience when the writer himself or herself hesitates to own that work to be their very best. How can it be a bestseller when the person who created it feels it's not good enough?

Why would other people care when you yourself don't think your work is worth it?

What I am trying to say here is simple.

Your work, your story and your characters are your creations. These creations are what you strived to bring into existence. And these creations are what you should be proud of.

If you are convinced that your work is great and deserves to be recognized then mark my words, it will receive the recognition it deserves. And before any of you starts to even think whether or not it deserves to be recognized, I'll answer that for you.

Anything that you strive over is worthy of being recognized. Be it a story, a painting, a poem or anything else that you create.

You're putting so much effort into it so why don't you own it as well and believe from the depth of your heart that you've given your very best in that story so it's a given that it will receive the best too.

I'm not going to lie, it takes time. It takes a lot of time for stories to get recognized and appreciated but what you've got to stay strong on is the hope and faith you should have in your work and in yourself.

Be that person who is proud of the things they've created because that in itself is half the achievement you're looking for.

You might have heard the saying that you are your own harshest critic. And that's very true; you judge your work much more closely than you would for someone else. You find the most negligible of flaws and you spend days overthinking about these tiny errors you see in your writing. And in the end all these little flaws pile together to seem like a sea of disaster and you are overcome by the dreadful thought of not being able to make it through.

But believe me when I say, you have to have limits on your internal critic too. Because if you don't, then it will cloud your perspective with the minor flaws so much that you will forget to notice the remarkable things about your story.

Now I'm not saying that you have to ignore all the flaws and live in a bubble of ignorant perfection because that's not realistic. All I'm saying is that you have to go a little easy on yourself.

Nobody is perfect, not me nor you nor anyone or anything else in this world. But even if we are not perfect, why can't we vow to be the best version of ourselves?

Similarly our stories can not be perfect but why don't we make them the best we can?

Once you start believing that you're creating something which is the best you can do, then you'll definitely start to feel love for that work. You will own it as a piece of yourself and you will stop wondering if it's good enough or not because you will know that it is the best you can give.

It is more than good enough.

***

There's honestly so much more to say about this topic because it strikes close to my heart. But I know it's been more than a thousand words of me giving a lecture.

So of course I'll see if I can continue it in another chapter. In the meanwhile, I hope you guys pay attention to the most important part of this chapter; owning and being proud of your work.

You have got to be strong enough to be proud for all your stories, no matter what other people say.

You are good enough and your stories are good enough. That's all that matters.