Comments on: Author Despair—What To Do When You Feel Like All Is Lost

By: Robert Raven

Robert Raven — Thu, 09 Feb 2023 05:50:12 +0000

I just got the ultimate rejection, and this is one you might not have seen before: Due to the untimely passing of our founding visionary, XXX, XXX is ceasing publication. We will not be able to consider your submission.

My writing is so bad it actually killed an editor.

By: Maree

Maree — Mon, 05 Feb 2018 22:34:42 +0000

In reply to Valerie. How did you past this feeling Valerie?

By: FXA

FXA — Tue, 27 Jun 2017 18:50:52 +0000

Go figure. I woke up and realized I’d hit the wall. I backtracked, but I hit the wall again.

And then I found this.

Sometimes I do feel I am all alone in this, that the road ahead is so very long, and dusty, populated with every dangerous being imaginable.

Sometimes I think, Why bother? Why return to the computer. It’s never gonna happen.

I see the faces of the people around me, how they look down when I pass, how they whisper about me—and the glee on their faces when they catch me with dust in my mouth from running after these most fleet-footed dreams.

It’s not just the rejection I face but the lack of money, the tiredness you mention, the self-doubt, and worst of all, words that sometimes simply stop marching, arriving, trickling, pouring. And I wait, and wait, and still they don’t reappear. What is that? Why am I being taunted so? And how do writers really survive this sort of desert?

The desert for me is a place to be buried by sand.

Thank you Kristen, though. This is a ladder out of a well.

And thanks to all who commented. I agree that it’s nice to be in the company of others who shoulder the same kind of aspirations as you do and play with the same tricks.

Good luck to us all.

By: Negeen

Negeen — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 22:21:21 +0000

This was exactly what I needed to read today. I have felt in the dumps, and “blocked” for weeks now. Life has been complicated and messy so I’ve resorted to telling myself that I am just “tired.” Of what, I am not exactly sure. Maybe it is that I’m tired of feeling like an imposter in a literary world I have just recently entered, or tired of feeling terrified that I can be great only that one time, that anything else will just be mediocre, that my skills were just some cosmic fluke. Maybe I am tired of failing. However, this post, as well as everyone’s comments, make it abundantly clear that I am not alone. That in and of itself, makes me feel less “tired” than just moments ago. And maybe, I can actually push myself to sit in front of the screen and write, something I’ve been avoiding for weeks now…

By: September Links | Becky Black

September Links | Becky Black — Sun, 18 Sep 2016 18:06:48 +0000

[…] Author Despair—What To Do When You Feel Like All Is Lost And on a similar theme, a post by Kristen Lamb. […]

By: T R Hudgins

T R Hudgins — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 22:22:55 +0000

I’m sort of new to this writing thing. I say that because I am fearful of actually trying to be a serious writer. I just know I’m not good enough. Yeah, I’ve been writing fanfiction for years, and yeah, I have tons of hits on my stories (over 100k on 13 works of fiction), lots of raving comments on those stories, and plenty of readers who read anything I post. But that’s just fanfiction. It’s for fun. It’s about a group of people my readers and I all love. What happens when I remove the fandom from my writing?!

You want honesty? Here it is: I fear rejection. I know it’s inevitable, so I just don’t try. Even though writing is my passion and being published is my life goal, I’d rather be a known fanfiction writer than a failed novelist.

So how do I overcome that? How do I move past the rejection I know is coming to even get a whole novel ready for submission?

I know I’m capable. I have written novel length fanfictions. I have ideas upon ideas just waiting for me to write them. And I LOVE writing! I’m just petrified. I want someone to tell me I’m good besides my husband (an avid reader) and my fanfic readers. I want someone who knows what it takes to tell me I have potential.

That won’t happen though. I’m too lost in the sea of self doubt to risk exposing myself to give anyone the opportunity to read anything I’ve written.

Please help me.

By: Jeannie Hall

Jeannie Hall — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 04:35:43 +0000

Reblogged this on Jeannie Hall Suspense and commented: Stuck in a writing slump? Here's help!

By: Top Picks Thursday! For Readers and Writers 05-05-2016 | The Author Chronicles

Thu, 05 May 2016 17:03:07 +0000

[…] if we should just give up writing—or at least give up trying to publish. Kristen Lamb discusses author despair and what to do when you feel all is lost, while Jody Hedlund shares encouragement for writers who don’t know if they should keep […]

By: Akaluv

Akaluv — Thu, 05 May 2016 12:49:34 +0000

This post really spoke to me. This is what I’m going through right now. I’m currently in the process of writing two novels, and my failure of gaining online popularity has really bothered me these past few months. I’m hoping things will get better, but I don’t see it happening. It makes me sad though, I really thought I had some unique book ideas readers would enjoy.

By: alexadarin

alexadarin — Wed, 04 May 2016 15:45:14 +0000

I’ve been tired A LOT! But it never stopped me from writing. I just started taking naps. Then I realized I was not, and never would be, good enough to be a REAL writer. (Though I am published.) So, why do I keep writing? It’s a good question that perhaps I’ll use to justify quitting one day. But for now, my answer is, practice makes perfect. And even if I never reach perfect, perhaps I’ll be good enough one day to satisfy the voices in my head that are constantly trying to lure me into giving up. Okay, must go now and get busy writing!