No, I haven’t decided to try writing a horror story. My writing demons aren’t part of a story. Instead, they do their best to destroy my stories.
Most writers have these naysayers lying in wait in their heads. They wait until the writer is tired or having plot problems or is trying to rewrite a draft. Then they pounce.
Writing Demons
Your story is lame. It’s rubbish. No one in their right mind would want to read this garbage.
This story is boring. Writing is a waste of time. The methods are endless, but all have the goal of making a writer give up.
Coping With Demons
Nothing gets rid of these naysayers. Their roots go back too far.
Coping begins with taking care to get enough sleep as these demons feed on fatigue. Not forgetting to eat healthy foods on time so the stomach doesn’t invite them in helps too.
Having a good friend or two to admire a story helps. This is true even if you know the friend would say the story is good regardless.
Another method is to tell the naysayers to go away. You know they are lying to you and choose to ignore them.
The Final Strategy
The writing demons will visit whenever they think your defenses are down. Beating them can be hard.
Stubbornness and persistence are the last and most effective strategies. The writer must just ignore the demons, sit down and write.
If the words that day aren’t that great, so what? Rewriting and editing will fix that.
The book is aching to get finished. There is only one way to finish it: keep writing.
Life’s Rules
I’ve started rewriting this novel. The demons are lurking.
So far the lines include: the novel is too long; there isn’t enough action; there is too much backstory put into the first chapter.
The first is true and rewrite should trim several thousand words. Maybe there isn’t enough action, but this isn’t an action novel. This is a novel about a woman getting old, being dissatisfied with her life and trying to change.
And that’s another way to cope with the writing demons. Listen to and evaluate what they are saying. Some of it may improve the story.