It is such an honor to have a guest post for my launch of Virtual Web Writer, from a woman who has become not only a mentor but a friend across this virtual divide. We have never met face-to-face, yet Suzette has been so inspirational to me has I forge ahead in this writing world. Many thanks to Suzette Martinez Standring for all that she and her writing stand for. —Jules
THE PRECIOUS “METTLE” WITHIN
By Suzette Martinez Standring
Writing is like searching through a dark room with no lights. You have to “feel” your way to possible treasure. While stumbling along, a good mantra comes in handy.
We root around for writing gems. In the process, we discover our “precious mettle,” that is, the strength and focus to see a project through.
Fear is our common denominator. Who doesn’t have little hobgoblins that chatter, “Well, that was unclear, grammatically incorrect, trite, stupid, (fill in the blank).” Such evil whispers are projected into our writing future, as in, “I fear my rejection slips will circle the moon six times.”
I go through that. Yes, my hobgoblins talk to me way too long and much too often despite being a nationally syndicated columnist. My book, The Art of Column Writing: Insider Secrets from Art Buchwald, Dave Barry, Arianna Huffington, Pete Hamill and Other Great Columnists has won awards and is used in university journalism programs.
Yet every day I worry, “Is this the day my well will go dry…forever?”
I know many accomplished writers who cannot completely banish their insecure thoughts, such as, “I’m an imposter!”
I learned a lot about self-doubt while creating my book, The Art of Column Writing. I had to call celebrity newspaper columnists for their best advice on the various aspects of writing. Scary!
I had met such writers through the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and applied their advice to my own writing career with success. Then it occurred to me that I should mine this vein of wisdom for others.
At the time I was president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Yet I sweated the thought of contacting writers like Leonard Pitts, Jr. of The Miami Herald or Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Robin Givhan of The Washington Post. “Who are you to approach them?” shouted the hobgoblins in my head.
Whatever you fear the most will keep crossing your path until you meet the challenge.
My fear (like many writers) is rejection. Stewart Smalley was one of my favorite characters on “Saturday Night Live.” As I faced the daunting task of writing The Art of Column Writing, I heard Smalley’s positive slogans in reverse: “You’re not good enough, you’re not smart enough, and doggone it, people don’t like you.”
I needed a daily mantra, a pithy saying to overcome the fear of failure, a slogan to revive my writing spirits. So I tried a few mottos on for size:
Just dig in and do it!
Start moving and I’ll be grooving.
I’m good enough. I’m smart enough and doggone it, people like me.
It resulted in me folding laundry instead of writing. My head was engaged. I knew what to do. My intellect understood that tackling a challenge with gusto made sense. But my heart dragged along as if to say, “Yeah, sure, whatever. Are there cookies in the house?”
Then I found a mantra that worked: “I just want to be of service.” And with that motto, my critical self disappeared (at least for a while).
Second-guessing and fretting about the invisible “they” can be paralyzing. “Will editors like this?” “Is this sellable?” “Does this appeal to the widest range of readers?” These are ego-induced thoughts that produce head writing, not heart writing.
Whenever I asked celebrity writers for their best writing advice for my book, I slipped into a service mindset. I told myself, “I’m asking questions on behalf of people who can’t make this phone call.”
Suddenly, I was able to slip past my inner naysayers! Instead of my fear of failing as The Almighty Author, I assumed a more forgiving title. I’m just the service tech, trying to get somebody else’s electricity hooked up. It worked.
“I just want to be of service” made the writing process more enjoyable. I felt more conversational in my chapters. The harshness of constant self-editing disappeared, as did the need to “defend” every sentence to myself.
When you switch your perspective from ambition and competition to a mindset of service, the process of creation is gentle and authentic. This applies to fiction and non-fiction alike.
Think about it. We all write to serve in some way, whether it’s to educate, inspire or to offer the healing power of laughing out loud. Write to serve, and in return the writing process will give you exactly what you need.
Maybe it will be publication, or simply the safe haven of process. Or perhaps your enthusiasm will serve to inspire somebody else to write that world-changing book, and you may never know the part you played.
Nelson Mandela once wrote, “And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
While gathering up writing gems, let your own precious “mettle” shine.
Email Suzette Standring at suzmar@comcast.net
The Art of Column Writing is available for sale only her website, www.readsuzette.com
She is syndicated with GateHouse News Service and is the TV host of “It’s All Write With Suzette,” a program about the craft of writing. Watch episodes on her website or on vimeo.com
Recent Comments