Some questions on creative self-confidence

I feel it..I do…I know what you mean…Sometimes it affects me…I think it’s ok though as long as we don’t let it affect us much no?
nabanita recently posted… Absence…

My writing, blogging, creating is for ME! I don’t do it for anyone else and if someone likes it or they don’t is not the issue. It makes me happy, gives me a creative outlet and soothes my heart and my soul and that means more to me than anything.
Melissa Senecal recently posted… Eight Ways to Thankful

I have the same manuscript I’ve been kicking around for years because I have not found the finality of saying, “It’s as good as it’s going to get,” nor do I think I ever will. I know many authors who feel that way about their published manuscripts. Writing is a craft that can always be improved upon. And to be a good writer, one must be a reader first.
Joyce recently posted… Throwback Thursday

I try not to compare because I know there will always be someone (a lot of people!) who can do things better than me. The thing is, I’m the only one who can “say” what is in my head. In that respect what I do is unique and can’t be compared. And it’s the same for every “artist”. I use the word “say” in my case as I’m a writer but it could be “see” for a painter or “hear” for a musician etc
Ana recently posted… How To Get Your Bedroom Back From Your Kids

If you pretend long enough, you either fail or it becomes true.
Kim Patterson
http://www.things2doinutah.com

These are some great questions. Very important, but not easy to answer. But I am happy you bring these up here for our reflection. We are all too human and sometimes get into the trap of comparing ourselves with others. Those are the times when we need to step back and look within what is the real purpose for why we do whatever it is we do – write, paint, whatever.
I also think that the society is such that it forces us to give ourselves a label – writer, artist, whatever. But do I really, I mean really really, need to call myself anything? I am not so sure.
Thanks Laurel for giving us some thought-provoking questions.
Beloo Mehra recently posted… That Late Night Chat

Excellent post, Laurel. I think most of us who try to do creative things wrestle with these issues. I have been fortunate to have three small publications. After each one, I’ve thought, Now I’m really a writer. But that feeling doesn’t last long if I don’t keep the momentum going, which is what usually happens. And I definitely have been guilty of comparing myself with other writers. The really good ones make me feel diminished, and I think “I can never write like that.” But lately I’ve been able to talk myself out of those moods of wanting to be Faulkner or Byatt or Hilary Mantel. There is room in the world for all kinds of writers, as well as artists. and the really important thing is loving whatever art you do and working and practicing it to get better on your own terms. If you do something that someone else finds worthy of exposing to a wider audience, it’s a wonderful bonus, but it shouldn’t be the main reason we do it.

My answer when reading this was a resounding Yes! BUT, it is helpful to know that others feel that sense of anxiety, too. Maybe this is a primarily female issue? I was speaking to a female co-worker and while my writing is separate from my work, we both spoke of the constant feeling of –should I be here? Do I know enough to do this job?? We are both educated and more than experienced enough to do our jobs and do them well, yet this keeps coming up. I suppose it is confidence more than anything…