Renewing Confidence in our Writing

In a recent issue of his newsletter Subtle Maneuvers, Mason Curry counsels an anonymous freelancer afraid of failing in his/her new career by quoting the therapist Esther Perel:

[…] Perel has this idea that relationships go through cycles of harmony, disharmony, and repair. And [the writer Sheila] Heti said that she thinks the same thing is true of the writing process: You go through periods of feeling like a freakin’ genius (harmony), and also periods of feeling like your writing is utter garbage (disharmony). And after moving through these two extremes, you eventually end up with something that feels right (repair). And then you start the cycle all over again!

Very true. When I wrote the first draft of this post, which was about a different topic altogether, I felt deflated because it came out so clumsy and a familiar voice said “this is it, you’ve lost it.” But, like I wrote elsewhere, life goes on and there is repair. Because I have a regular writing practice that includes this blog it doesn’t take long for me to prove that familiar voice wrong.

That’s what does the trick: a regular writing practice. Today may have been no good but you’ll be back tomorrow. And the day after that.