You’d think, as a romance writer, that your emotions would be helpful to your writing. And in fact, when you’re actually writing they can be. However, they can also get in the way.
The biggest culprit is fear.
Fear can and does squash your writing voice. Have you ever thought, as you’re writing, that you’re being too outlandish? Too sexy? Not sexy enough? Too emotional? Too wordy? Not wordy enough? Too simple? Too confusing? All of this worrying and fear about your writing actually limits you. It prevents your creative flow from…well, from flowing.
Doubt is also a limiting emotion. Do you ever doubt your writing is good enough? Do you doubt your manuscript is on the right track or that your characters are interesting, consistent, or compelling enough?
Both fear and doubt also tend to keep writers from promoting their work enough. Whether you’re writing a query letter or giving a pitch, how you feel about your work shows in what you say and how you say it. Confidence and pride go a long way. Doubt and fear do too, unfortunatley.
So how do you get past doubt, fear and other limiting emotions?
As a writer you already know it’s a roller coaster of emotions. One minute you may feel like you’re a great writer. The next minute and your manuscript is the worst thing ever.
Get off the roller coaster of emotions!
Instead, try to look at your writing as a job. Yes, it’s creative expression but it’s also a business and your manuscript is a commodity. Your job is to entertain. Some days you’re going to be better at your job than others. That’s just the way it is because some days are better than others. Adopting this mindset can take a lot of the pressure off of being perfect. It can help you set aside fear and doubt.
Love your job and work hard to be the best you can be. Strive to learn and improve and accept that some days your writing is going to be amazing and other days are going to be a struggle, as it is with any job.