I had written an article about the ingenuity of the human mind in understanding the universe. In the conclusion, I wrote this line and I freaking love it: The majestic universe wanted to be understood, and we accepted the challenge. That's what makes us special. It seems simple when I go back and read it. But I remember the moment when I could finally express what I have been feeling about science in such simple words.
A group of elementary students gave me the confidence I was lacking. I took a college writing class years ago when I was working towards my degree. I had always read anything I could get my hands on. When I wasn’t buried in a book I was scribbling down story ideas. Writing a chapter here or there but never following through. My professor was very supportive and encouraged me to submit some of my short stories for publication. I didn’t: one reason was creative writing had nothing to do with my major. Plus, I didn’t realize short stories actually were legitimate avenues for writers. Another reason I lacked confidence even though I had a published professor who was impressed with my writing. I was a non traditional student, at least 10 year’s older than my classmates. At the time I truly thought he was just being nice because he felt sorry for me. Lack of self confidence murders many dreams. Days, turned to weeks before slipping into months and finally years without me writing anything except curriculum and lesson plans. Day to day life dictated my every waking moment. Even my dreams, once vivid and a source of inspiration lost their color. It was if all creatively, inspiration and imagination had been sucked from me. Now a decade later while teaching a writing lesson to my third grade students, a glimmer of my imagination has begun to resurface. I tossed out the lesson plan one day when I couldn’t get my kiddos interested in the writing subject. “What do you want to write about? What interest you? I asked them. Totally exasperated and frustrated with them. “Zombies! “ “Zombies? Okay, I like Zombies but no gore. We are third graders and I like my job.” So I substituted Zombies for the original subject. Every night I would write a paragraph and the next day they would each add to the story. To my amazement they were excited to read what I wrote and many of them were writing their own story outside of class time., during free time, recess, and at home. AND, they were good! Two of my boys came up with an idea for a Zombie Apocalypse cookbook. The cookbook was full of meals to fix on a fire when you can’t get groceries from Walmart. I also had a girl complete her short story, read it aloud the last day of school and is emailing me pages from her next “novel” as she’s writing it. It’s too late to make a long story short but what my message is; inspiration and confidence can come from unexpected places. The first of June as soon as I was finished with school I started seriously writing. Four chapters latter with 20,000 plus words I have written more in 18 days then I have in the past ten years combined. I have stayed with one story and I continue to stay motivated. My writing may very well be garbage and childish but thanks to 24 kids who believed in me I feel confident. 🤪
I wrote a poem for my the mother of my child, I finished It on mothers day 2020. I'm confident that the poem is exactly what I intended, though I don't have enough confidence to show her yet. Life so far, has had its visions too vivid to express with words: visions of a wild sunset. At times too bright to comprehend, what it is we really seek. Oh here comes the clouds, who can seem so cozy at times: we must indulge. Somewhere between the shoulders and above the belly.......... We can feel the sun coming again, from the depths of our soul. To. Kathleen Balmeo HAPPY MOTHERS DAY
A year later, and this is exactly what I needed to hear. I’ve struggled so long even just starting to write again because I kept telling myself my stories aren’t worth the time. But I forgot how writing made me feel and I forgot that I actually love the process. Thank you for making this video. My writing tends to start from dreams I’ve had and I love that I have a secret record of my dreams in my portfolio.
The third point hit me hard. Confidence is pretty vital. When I'm down, I don't even feel like writing. But with confidence, you can just push through it. Thanks for doing this. Really needed this 💓
My favorite thing I've written lately was a free verse poem about how jealousy can be really good inspiration. I was reading an anthology of young writers and found myself getting jealous of all the talent but it made me really inspired to write so I wrote a poem about that feeling and it came out as one of my favorites!
Thank you so much for this video. I’m struggling with my confidence in my writing, and I can definitely be my own worst critic. But I’m glad to hear that I’m not alone.
This definitely helped me and will help my artists in my writing class. And I think the thing I’m most proud of that I’ve written is my current manuscript for my novel. I’m 24 chapters in on my rough draft.
I needed this. Thank you. I don't suffer from comparing my writing to published work. Not at all. My problem is I doubt my skill in itself. I wish I could learn the proper way of punctuation and just keep THAT correct way in mind. Same goes for grammar errors. I'm OK with my story ideas and, well, I put a lot of effort into this. So, I know I'm working hard, but I fear that no matter how hard I try, it will never be good enough for the industry. There is one short story that I'm proud of. It's called dANGER. Yes, spelled that way. It is one of my favourite things from the stuff I've written so far.
I think it's okay to doubt your skill and always know there is room for improvement, but you can't improve unless you write. So finish your draft, then fix it. Also for the grammar, try Grammarly it's free and can help improve your grammar.
I'm proud of myself for ... watching this video. I'm proud of myself for even typing, because I stopped leaving comments or reviews on anything when I stopped writing... I'm proud of myself for having the confidence to know I had no confidence. I'm proud of the way this video made me feel, and that it made me cry. I'm proud of you, TO YOU, WHOEVER YOU ARE WHO IS READING THIS, AND GOOD FOR YOU. KEEP GOING. Thank you so very much for this
My favorite thing I’ve written recently is a short story. It’s the first thing I wrote after finishing NaNoWriMo 2022. That piece has everything I love. It’s dark, has interesting description, an interesting POV, complex characters, and every scene is so perfectly placed together. I usually am very negative about my writing, so this is the first time I’ve truly felt confident that it’s good. It put me in the right direction that I want my writing to go in, so I’m very excited.
Very cool video. I particularly like the one about valuing your project to whatever extent you can pull it off, as a creation of yours. As far as being proud one thing that stands out was a chat post I once did. The subject was Amelia Earhart and she was being panned and vilified really for some of the "unspeakably unprofessional" stunts she pulled. I wrote just a paragraph explaining that her era in aviation was about barnstorming and daredeviling, and cannot be compared to commercial aviation where safety is paramount. I'm a big fan of hers' and I just decided to stick up for her and her character, which seemed very important. Immediately afterward I had the most unexpected and profound sense of pride and joy. You might say I had stuck up for a great character!
I know that this was made in June of last year, but something that I'm proud of that I did recently was complete my first draft of my current WOP. I love it so much because it was my first time experimenting with point of view. That, and the main character is the villain.
As of right now I’m writing a story that means a lot to me, incorporating my past experience and people who are meaningful in my life. But it is so easy to loos track and get lost. I don’t see the end anywhere in sight and it’s overwhelming, and my conference is low. This really helped me out. I’m new to this channel and I’m a new writer, but I feel like my writing has improved since I’ve been here and I find this videos and your other videos so helpful! Thank you so much!!!
My debut novel, When Are You Today? had appropriate humor and a positive message. I'm sure I will find more fault with it the more I learn. Practice is essential. There is no substitute for it.
What a great video! Everything you mentioned is exactly what has been going through my head! Woah! Your awesome dude, thank you so much for this boost of motivation. I never ever comment on anyone's video. Haha first time actually hi I'm David! Love your writing content
When I started writing I didn't have the confidence to write more than one story. One of my friends from college helped me to bring my confidence up. Right now I am writing multiple stories.
Thank you sooooo much for this! I really needed this! I finished my book months ago but editing and editing again hoping to make it professional, and keep wanting to change things every time I read it. I think I just need to just jump the gun and get it out there haha thank you :)
This is the most helpful, mature and practical video I've seen in this topic. thumbs up. Unfortunately I don't have too much output yet, the one that I'm most proud of is a sci fi short story I've submitted to a competition recently. Results will be announced in 3 weeks, wish me luck :) And based on that I can relate very much with what you said about finding your own mistakes: just a day after the deadline I reread it, and found a paragraph that was very poorly written. First I was disappointed, but then I thought that the fact that I found this error is actually good, it means I know things.
Good luck with the contest! I've definitely found mistakes after submitting many times, it's tough when you've already submitted, but it is nice to know you've fixed it for the next submission.
I have had a lot of false starts that could all be novels today.....luckily I throw nothing away.....when my confidence gets a boost I'm sure I could make some of them full length novels or novellas at least, God willing.
my good sister, thank you for another good vid. my former best friend of 25 years wrote a bad review of my book. 1 my consultants says it looks like a personal attack on me disguised as a review of my book. his attack can be seen on amazon. you n jenna moreci help build my confidence. my first two books were done in pantser mode. this time around im trying plotting. have a nice nite. :)
Well, I am proud of creating a character I call Night Man. I have written a sort of origin story for him, it's pretty weird and fantastical, but yo, I'm really proud of it, so yeah :)
I’m not writing a book. I’m writing an essay. I have really bad confidence when it comes to writing essays. I haven’t written an essay for months now and I have an essay to write for one of my classes. I can’t help but feel like I’m doing it wrong. Like my topic isn’t interesting or creative enough.
I really needed this thank you!! I have a question, whoever sees this can answer. I’ve written things on and off and I’m still growing. I haven’t written for several months but want to. Is it okay that I don’t actually read many books? I’m really not a reader, I do enjoy it if I find an interesting book. But I don’t know many authors.
Hi there! :) I know it's been a long time, but I thought I'd reply because no one else has. I also don't read a whole lot any more. Some of my favourite stories are from podcasts now. I personally think it's totally okay to be selective about the work you read. After all, there's not much point reading work that doesn't interest you as it won't really help you grow. I also struggle with a problem that when I get super into someone else's work it makes it hard for me to get back in touch with my own ideas XD I don't think there's any point in forcing yourself to do something you don't enjoy. Maybe with time you will find more books you find interesting :)
Hey you! I will be waiting for the link of the book you are currently writing or planning to write. Be confident! I will read your book. Try researching more if you are losing confidence. Don't keep a deadline! There is always a tomorrow for completing your book. Don't keep trying get more and more better one out of your book, what you feel good is better than having more and more better till it breaks your story. Your book might seem illogical, but remember there is no such thing as illogical in this world. Creativity comes with illogical stuff. Just wrap it around the story carefully. You need your readers to keep reading, so try showing not explaining everything. These all are the problems I too have, so anyone who can relate, you are not alone. Be creative, Be confident, Complete your book and reply me.
what do you do if you lose your entire writing data to hard drive malfunction? how do you bring back your confidence? I am asking because this just happened to me. I found out it was due to ant infestation; it is irreparable damage, and I have no choice but to discard the hard disk. I am close to rock bottom in my confidence level.
That happened to me; sort of. It was in my birthday too, i lost 27 pages of a story i was completely improvising. So i didn't remember most of it. I didn't my lose my confidence, but it felt like losing a part of me; i had no drive to write anymore. To get back, i started writing small projects - tales, poems and short texts. I built myself back up and am now deep in another story, saved in 3 places. If you're still struggling, here's my advice: if you're really a writer, you won't be able to stop doing it. Be it little projects, you'll find joy in them. Eventually you'll crave for long works.
I really appreciate the fact that Shaelin treats the psychological issues around writing, not just the technical ones.
I had written an article about the ingenuity of the human mind in understanding the universe. In the conclusion, I wrote this line and I freaking love it:
The majestic universe wanted to be understood, and we accepted the challenge.
That's what makes us special.
It seems simple when I go back and read it. But I remember the moment when I could finally express what I have been feeling about science in such simple words.
A group of elementary students gave me the confidence I was lacking.
I took a college writing class years ago when I was working towards my degree. I had always read anything I could get my hands on. When I wasn’t buried in a book I was scribbling down story ideas. Writing a chapter here or there but never following through.
My professor was very supportive and encouraged me to submit some of my short stories for publication. I didn’t: one reason was creative writing had nothing to do with my major. Plus, I didn’t realize short stories actually were legitimate avenues for writers. Another reason I lacked confidence even though I had a published professor who was impressed with my writing.
I was a non traditional student, at least 10 year’s older than my classmates. At the time I truly thought he was just being nice because he felt sorry for me. Lack of self confidence murders many dreams.
Days, turned to weeks before slipping into months and finally years without me writing anything except curriculum and lesson plans. Day to day life dictated my every waking moment. Even my dreams, once vivid and a source of inspiration lost their color. It was if all creatively, inspiration and imagination had been sucked from me.
Now a decade later while teaching a writing lesson to my third grade students, a glimmer of my imagination has begun to resurface. I tossed out the lesson plan one day when I couldn’t get my kiddos interested in the writing subject. “What do you want to write about? What interest you? I asked them. Totally exasperated and frustrated with them.
“Zombies! “
“Zombies? Okay, I like Zombies but no gore. We are third graders and I like my job.”
So I substituted Zombies for the original subject. Every night I would write a paragraph and the next day they would each add to the story. To my amazement they were excited to read what I wrote and many of them were writing their own story outside of class time., during free time, recess, and at home. AND, they were good! Two of my boys came up with an idea for a Zombie Apocalypse cookbook. The cookbook was full of meals to fix on a fire when you can’t get groceries from Walmart. I also had a girl complete her short story, read it aloud the last day of school and is emailing me pages from her next “novel” as she’s writing it.
It’s too late to make a long story short but what my message is; inspiration and confidence can come from unexpected places.
The first of June as soon as I was finished with school I started seriously writing. Four chapters latter with 20,000 plus words I have written more in 18 days then I have in the past ten years combined. I have stayed with one story and I continue to stay motivated.
My writing may very well be garbage and childish but thanks to 24 kids who believed in me I feel confident. 🤪
Very sweet and inspirational
I really, really needed this. I've been going through a lot of struggle with my confidence as a writer.
Thank you so much.
So happy it helped
I wrote a poem for my the mother of my child, I finished It on mothers day 2020. I'm confident that the poem is exactly what I intended, though I don't have enough confidence to show her yet.
Life so far, has had its visions too vivid to express with words: visions of a wild sunset.
At times too bright to comprehend, what it is we really seek.
Oh here comes the clouds, who can seem so cozy at times: we must indulge.
Somewhere between the shoulders and above the belly..........
We can feel the sun coming again, from the depths of our soul.
To. Kathleen Balmeo
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY
A year later, and this is exactly what I needed to hear. I’ve struggled so long even just starting to write again because I kept telling myself my stories aren’t worth the time. But I forgot how writing made me feel and I forgot that I actually love the process. Thank you for making this video. My writing tends to start from dreams I’ve had and I love that I have a secret record of my dreams in my portfolio.
So happy it could help!
At times like that you wonder if the process was the main point all along.
The third point hit me hard.
Confidence is pretty vital. When I'm down, I don't even feel like writing. But with confidence, you can just push through it.
Thanks for doing this. Really needed this 💓
My favorite thing I've written lately was a free verse poem about how jealousy can be really good inspiration. I was reading an anthology of young writers and found myself getting jealous of all the talent but it made me really inspired to write so I wrote a poem about that feeling and it came out as one of my favorites!
Sounds interesting! Can I read it?🙈
Thank you so much for this video. I’m struggling with my confidence in my writing, and I can definitely be my own worst critic. But I’m glad to hear that I’m not alone.
I love that you're so articulate! You're just good with words all around!
This definitely helped me and will help my artists in my writing class. And I think the thing I’m most proud of that I’ve written is my current manuscript for my novel. I’m 24 chapters in on my rough draft.
Congratulations on all your progress!
Finding value in the process... love it, that's what lots of experts recommend in any walk of life, kudos Shaelin
I needed this. Thank you.
I don't suffer from comparing my writing to published work. Not at all. My problem is I doubt my skill in itself. I wish I could learn the proper way of punctuation and just keep THAT correct way in mind. Same goes for grammar errors. I'm OK with my story ideas and, well, I put a lot of effort into this. So, I know I'm working hard, but I fear that no matter how hard I try, it will never be good enough for the industry.
There is one short story that I'm proud of. It's called dANGER. Yes, spelled that way. It is one of my favourite things from the stuff I've written so far.
I think it's okay to doubt your skill and always know there is room for improvement, but you can't improve unless you write. So finish your draft, then fix it. Also for the grammar, try Grammarly it's free and can help improve your grammar.
@@rodproducts thank you. I've heard about Grammarly, but I don't know how to use it yet. I'll have to figure it out. Thanks again.
I'm proud of myself for ... watching this video.
I'm proud of myself for even typing, because I stopped leaving comments or reviews on anything when I stopped writing...
I'm proud of myself for having the confidence to know I had no confidence.
I'm proud of the way this video made me feel, and that it made me cry.
I'm proud of you, TO YOU, WHOEVER YOU ARE WHO IS READING THIS, AND GOOD FOR YOU. KEEP GOING.
Thank you so very much for this
Wow I knew this but it's so refreshing to hear it form another writer 🔥❤❤❤
First🤗 loved this, i really needed it right now
My favorite thing I’ve written recently is a short story. It’s the first thing I wrote after finishing NaNoWriMo 2022. That piece has everything I love. It’s dark, has interesting description, an interesting POV, complex characters, and every scene is so perfectly placed together. I usually am very negative about my writing, so this is the first time I’ve truly felt confident that it’s good. It put me in the right direction that I want my writing to go in, so I’m very excited.
Very cool video. I particularly like the one about valuing your project to whatever extent you can pull it off, as a creation of yours. As far as being proud one thing that stands out was a chat post I once did. The subject was Amelia Earhart and she was being panned and vilified really for some of the "unspeakably unprofessional" stunts she pulled. I wrote just a paragraph explaining that her era in aviation was about barnstorming and daredeviling, and cannot be compared to commercial aviation where safety is paramount. I'm a big fan of hers' and I just decided to stick up for her and her character, which seemed very important. Immediately afterward I had the most unexpected and profound sense of pride and joy. You might say I had stuck up for a great character!
My favorite thing I've written so far is the world I've created. Describing it and diving into it has been so much fun!!
Shay, thank you so much for making this video.
Thank you for this platform its a special thing for our Community.
I know that this was made in June of last year, but something that I'm proud of that I did recently was complete my first draft of my current WOP. I love it so much because it was my first time experimenting with point of view. That, and the main character is the villain.
As of right now I’m writing a story that means a lot to me, incorporating my past experience and people who are meaningful in my life. But it is so easy to loos track and get lost. I don’t see the end anywhere in sight and it’s overwhelming, and my conference is low. This really helped me out. I’m new to this channel and I’m a new writer, but I feel like my writing has improved since I’ve been here and I find this videos and your other videos so helpful! Thank you so much!!!
What I like about your video are the audio (it's clear and not distracting), and also, your video is less than 10 minutes.
My debut novel, When Are You Today? had appropriate humor and a positive message. I'm sure I will find more fault with it the more I learn. Practice is essential. There is no substitute for it.
What if you don’t have an idea but you want to write so badly? Thanks for great tips! They inspired 😍
What a great video! Everything you mentioned is exactly what has been going through my head! Woah! Your awesome dude, thank you so much for this boost of motivation. I never ever comment on anyone's video. Haha first time actually hi I'm David! Love your writing content
When I started writing I didn't have the confidence to write more than one story. One of my friends from college helped me to bring my confidence up. Right now I am writing multiple stories.
Thank you sooooo much for this! I really needed this! I finished my book months ago but editing and editing again hoping to make it professional, and keep wanting to change things every time I read it. I think I just need to just jump the gun and get it out there haha thank you :)
This was a terrific video. I appreciate your knowledge and all you do to help writers. Thank you!
Superb advice. Yes there’s a real sense of the human psychology in shaelin’s advice. Thank you :)
Thanks for this..really was doubting about myself n my writing..❤👍
This is the most helpful, mature and practical video I've seen in this topic. thumbs up.
Unfortunately I don't have too much output yet, the one that I'm most proud of is a sci fi short story I've submitted to a competition recently. Results will be announced in 3 weeks, wish me luck :)
And based on that I can relate very much with what you said about finding your own mistakes: just a day after the deadline I reread it, and found a paragraph that was very poorly written. First I was disappointed, but then I thought that the fact that I found this error is actually good, it means I know things.
Good luck with the contest! I've definitely found mistakes after submitting many times, it's tough when you've already submitted, but it is nice to know you've fixed it for the next submission.
Yes. Loved this!
Truly eloquent as ever!
Your videos are so helpful. Thank you❤️
I have had a lot of false starts that could all be novels today.....luckily I throw nothing away.....when my confidence gets a boost I'm sure I could make some of them full length novels or novellas at least, God willing.
Thank you very much for your helpful video 😊 xx
I needed this.
#10 is a great thing to do and remember 👌🖒
my good sister, thank you for another good vid. my former best friend of 25 years wrote a bad review of my book. 1 my consultants says it looks like a personal attack on me disguised as a review of my book. his attack can be seen on amazon. you n jenna moreci help build my confidence. my first two books were done in pantser mode. this time around im trying plotting. have a nice nite. :)
Love it
Well, I am proud of creating a character I call Night Man. I have written a sort of origin story for him, it's pretty weird and fantastical, but yo, I'm really proud of it, so yeah :)
Video Prompt Response: I am good at adding additional information in revision.
Brilliant. :)
I’m not writing a book. I’m writing an essay. I have really bad confidence when it comes to writing essays. I haven’t written an essay for months now and I have an essay to write for one of my classes. I can’t help but feel like I’m doing it wrong. Like my topic isn’t interesting or creative enough.
Do you edit and help do the final process?
I really needed this thank you!! I have a question, whoever sees this can answer. I’ve written things on and off and I’m still growing. I haven’t written for several months but want to. Is it okay that I don’t actually read many books? I’m really not a reader, I do enjoy it if I find an interesting book. But I don’t know many authors.
Hi there! :) I know it's been a long time, but I thought I'd reply because no one else has. I also don't read a whole lot any more. Some of my favourite stories are from podcasts now. I personally think it's totally okay to be selective about the work you read. After all, there's not much point reading work that doesn't interest you as it won't really help you grow. I also struggle with a problem that when I get super into someone else's work it makes it hard for me to get back in touch with my own ideas XD I don't think there's any point in forcing yourself to do something you don't enjoy. Maybe with time you will find more books you find interesting :)
6:35 me Edit: Yeahy, it's a good thing :D
Hello.. nice
Hey you! I will be waiting for the link of the book you are currently writing or planning to write. Be confident! I will read your book. Try researching more if you are losing confidence. Don't keep a deadline! There is always a tomorrow for completing your book. Don't keep trying get more and more better one out of your book, what you feel good is better than having more and more better till it breaks your story. Your book might seem illogical, but remember there is no such thing as illogical in this world. Creativity comes with illogical stuff. Just wrap it around the story carefully. You need your readers to keep reading, so try showing not explaining everything. These all are the problems I too have, so anyone who can relate, you are not alone. Be creative, Be confident, Complete your book and reply me.
what do you do if you lose your entire writing data to hard drive malfunction? how do you bring back your confidence? I am asking because this just happened to me. I found out it was due to ant infestation; it is irreparable damage, and I have no choice but to discard the hard disk. I am close to rock bottom in my confidence level.
That happened to me; sort of. It was in my birthday too, i lost 27 pages of a story i was completely improvising. So i didn't remember most of it. I didn't my lose my confidence, but it felt like losing a part of me; i had no drive to write anymore.
To get back, i started writing small projects - tales, poems and short texts. I built myself back up and am now deep in another story, saved in 3 places.
If you're still struggling, here's my advice: if you're really a writer, you won't be able to stop doing it. Be it little projects, you'll find joy in them. Eventually you'll crave for long works.
Stick to your own work and understand your errors.
👍
Ok, I’ll stop comparing myself to David Foster Wallace or John Updike.
You are a bright young lady. We will be playing this video for my writer’s group.
I hate the way she says vague lol
Why are you upset