Balancing Humility With Confidence

I saw a post recently titled “The Timeless Writing Struggle: Ego vs. Humility” by Karen Debonis on the Writers in the Storm website that struck home for me. Ms. Debonis had written a memoir, and she described how she went from believing that her early draft would be a “runaway bestseller,” to realizing she had a lot to learn, to figuring out how to find the help she needed, to accepting criticism, to finally working on a draft she hopes is publishable.

Every writer goes through those stages. I go through them again with every book I write.

The adrenalin rush from typing “The End” on the completion of a first draft is exhilarating. At that point, I am ready to declare victory. But I can’t, because the work has only just begun.

Each writer has a different way—and a different timeline—for switching from drafting mode to editing mode. On my first novel, I had to put the book away for several months before I could face editing it. I knew it needed editing, but I didn’t know how to do it. With each successive draft, I was more willing to accept the need for editing and I could get to the point of determining HOW to resolve the book’s problems more quickly. But it still took many drafts.

Not only did that first book take many drafts, but I drafted three novels before I finally whipped the first one into publishable form (then published it under a pseudonym). And I didn’t publish my second novel (Lead Me Home) until my third book (Now I’m Found) was a draft or two away from publication.

I progressed slowly, but I learned something with every draft. How to address plot holes. How to mold a book into a recognizable story structure. How to deepen characters’ emotions.

Then, once those first three novels were published, I faced the blank page again. Back to the drawing board, and out came Forever Mine, which followed portions of Lead Me Home quite closely, so plotting was much simpler than the earlier books.

Back to the blank page for My Hope Secured, which really was a blank page, because I had no idea how that story would develop. But it did.

Then a refreshing switch this last year to a second contemporary novel while I did more historical research. I’ve just published that contemporary book, but I spent an entire day correcting the hyphens in the novel before I hit the “Publish” button on KDP. Talk about humility.

Now that the contemporary novel is published, I’m facing a blank page again. I’ve tried to do some plotting in advance for this next book, and I have a more detailed plot outline than on most of my novels. But I still enter the drafting process wondering if I can do this.

And yet, I now have the experience to balance humility with confidence. I know I will have the ups and downs of drafting, thinking my work is brilliant, knowing it sucks, editing the heck out of it (with the help of my critique partners and beta readers), finally declaring it is as good as I can make it, and deciding to publish. I can support myself through these stages. I hope.

As I write this next book, I will keep Ms. Debonis’s summary points in mind (my paraphrasing of her points):

• I will accept that at any point in time, my writing is only as good as I can make it at that time.
• I will recognize that time cannot improve my skills unless I actively work at them, so I will work at them.
• I will celebrate how far I’ve come as a writer, and have faith that I will continue to improve.
• I will realize that humility is the best teacher, and that I must approach each new project as a beginner.

But I also go into the process recognizing two things:

1. I am a beginner again, and I will learn as I write and improve my skills on this next book, but
2. I have the confidence to believe that I will succeed, that I will finish the project I am beginning.

Humility and confidence, both are necessary.

Writers, what lessons in humility have you learned along your journey?