Welcome to the official site of India Drummond – urban fantasy, sci-fi, and romance author. Ordinary Angels, her debut novel, comes out April 2011!
Recently I read an article on A Newbies Guide To Publishing that talked about the difference between a “confident writer” vs. a “delusional writer”.
All writers need to be confident. We must believe our work is worthy, that our efforts aren’t in vain.
But what are the differences between confidence, and its ugly step-sister, delusion?
Confident writers know they’ll be published, if they keep at it.
Delusion writers think they’ll be rich and famous.Confident writers work to get the words right.
Delusional writers think they got the words right the first time.Confident writers expect to be periodically rejected.
Delusional writers are shocked every time someone fails to recognize their brilliance.
The problem I see here is not that her words aren’t correct, it’s more that I think the problem isn’t “delusion” so much as “inexperience”. I’ve been writing and attending classes and workshops for twenty years. It’s my experience as a writer that makes me confident, not better mental health. As we’ve established earlier, good mental health isn’t always my most solid trait.
Hip Chick Marsha told me about going to a writing seminar in London in which some of the participants fell into a few newbie traps, like not wanting to even tell the agent running the workshop about their novel idea, because they were so worried someone would steal it. Other participants didn’t know what genre they were writing or when asked to introduce themselves rambled about unrelated topics.
But what writer knows how to avoid these traps instinctively? I get questions all the time from inexperienced writers with stars in their eyes or who have been devastated by criticism or rejection. Knowing how to deal with these things, or how to write a query letter or to summarise a novel doesn’t spring from confidence, but rather the other way around… confidence comes from knowing.
So if a writer finds themselves daunted, uncertain, and not sure where to start, ask those who have been doing it a while. Read books about writing. Get to know other writers via Facebook, Twitter, blogging or other social media. These things weren’t around when I started writing, and I tell ya, it makes life easier having it all at my fingertips.
The confidence will come as you learn, and above all, as you write.
I'm a lot of other things, but mostly I'm a writer. I like books with fast action, scary killers, fantasy worlds, and smutty sex. Maybe even all four at once. My novel Ordinary Angels debuts from Lyrical Press in April 2011. To read about my other projects, click the My Fiction page. To get in touch with me, click Contact India and send me an email.
And your criticism is quite valid, or rather more precise.
Dear Nixy,
The comparisons between the confident and delusional writer is well put! Your criticism is quite valid, or rather more precise. Writing is an art which requires talent.
I totally agree with you, Nixy. The more I learn and write, the more I believe that I am an author.
I read that post just this morning. I agreed with what it said, but you’re right that “delusional” is not really the right word (for some of the things he mentioned, yes: delusional people think the world owes them something. But that statement applies to people in all professions).
Some of the things me mentioned made me think of a lady I know (who was recently booted from our critique group, for various reasons). None in this group have been published and we’re all amateur newbies, but we brought our work to be critiqued and were open to feedback and suggestions; whenever we critiqued this lady’s work, she dismissed everything we said and explained why what she had written, and how she had written it, was perfect just the way it was.
The confident writer welcomes opportunities to grow, and gain experience. The delusional writer thinks she knows it all already and doesn’t bother trying to learn anything new, or gain any experience.