Born Again Pessimist

I’m not ashamed to say that I am a born again pessimist. I’m skeptical of everything. When I am most enthusiastic about a novel I’m working on, the pessimism, the doubt inside of me is reborn. Every single time. And I think that is natural for writers.

As an indie writer, I know I’m not going to be the next J.K.Rowling. I keep plugging away, however, because I love to write. I love to go inside my imagination and make up a new world all my own. One without pessimism.

Sometimes, though, I just can’t seem to pull it out of me. Call it writers block or creative slowdown or whatever, writing can be hard. As the legendary Maya Angelou once said, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

And that’s where my pessimism kicks in overdrive. Pessimism has its place. In life and in fiction. A healthy dose of pessimism keeps me from being overly disappointed when I don’t get a five star review on my books. But as with everything else, all in moderation. You must temper pessimism with courage and determination.

I leave you with this quote by the great J.K. Rowling, “Perseverance is absolutely essential, not just to produce all those words, but to survive rejection and criticism.”

And this quote from the Bible: For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. ( 2 Timothy 1:7)

Pessimism be damned. I need to write!

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Cover photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash