Telling a story and sharing it with the world is a terrifying experience. True, you’ve shared something important to you but you’ve also left yourself open to criticism. So you may ask yourself…

Why bother trying? Every story has already been told, right?

This isn’t just with writing novels. I had the same thoughts before I started this blog. I would think to myself…

There are other blogs and vlogs out there that talk about writing. Why bother starting?

It wasn’t the first time I’ve had thoughts like that and it wouldn’t be the last. I’m also not alone in this. Every time I log onto twitter, I find at least one tweet in the #writingcommunity where a writer is doubting their abilities. In that same community though, people rally together to encourage each other to keep going, to keep writing. It’s amazing.

Self-doubt, when left to thrive, can smother and silence dreams. It was a dream of mine to become a blogger for a long time, but I doubted myself. The question…

Why bother starting?

…would linger and honestly, at the time, I had forgotten my answer. So I went searching and found it again by reading articles like this one by Jason ‘David Wong’ Pargin on becoming a better person and by watching motivational videos on youtube.

“EMBRACE Who You Were BORN TO BE!” – Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) – #Entspresso

Evan Carmichael

In my last posts I wrote about writing the stories I want to read. Part of that was embracing who I am, embracing my voice, no matter how terrifying it may seem. The videos and articles reminded me of that.

In this day and age, an original story is a rare phenomenon and almost all the ones being told are reboots, a paraphrasing of an existing classic. However if no one ever wrote anymore simply because they felt all original ideas were taken, the world may be missing out on something special.

I am currently writing a high fantasy series, but my goal is not to be the next George R.R. Martin or the next J. R. R. Tolkien. It is simply to write a good story based on my experiences, a story that I hope will resonate with others.

Embracing ones own voice is incredibly important when it comes to writing because no matter how similar your story will be to the ones that already exist, no matter how identical two people are, there will always, always, be differences. Different experiences mean different perspectives, values and beliefs.

So embrace your voice.

Tell your story. Tell it true, because somewhere out there, another person or two may be grateful for it.

Maybe more.

***

Thank you to those who have read this post. I would like to mention again that what I write about is simply a reflection of my own personal experiences. By sharing my thoughts about the things that have motivated and inspired me as well as the people in my life, I am hoping I could motivate and inspire others. I am aware that everyone’s situation is different and if what you are doing works for you, I’m really glad. Please continue doing what you’re doing.

Photo Credit: NikolayFrolochkin from Pixabay