Negativity in Writing: Silencing the No's by Darlene Beck Jacobson

No one is going to read or like this story (Write it to please yourself).

Once I do laundry, shop, clean the house I’ll have time to write (We all know the only way to make time for what is important is to just do it).

Very few books like this get published (I write historical fiction and get told this all the time. Yet so many of the Newbery winners are historical…so just write it!)

Everyone is getting contracts and selling books. How could there possibly be room for me? (There is always room for good writing.)

Maybe I need an MFA to be a good writer. (We need to WRITE to get better at our craft).

Better stick to writing what I know, instead of what I’m interested in learning about. (Ridiculous! You don’t have to be a soldier to write about war, or a witch to write about the supernatural.)

Entering writing contests is a waste of time. (It’s just another way to get our writing out into the world for others to see.)

Rejection means I’m a lousy writer. (It means I have some work to do…not a reflection of me as a person.)