IWSG A little can go a long way

For those of you who don’t know, this is the monthly installment of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group hosted by The Ninja Captain and his lovely co-hosts Chemist Ken, SL Hennessy, Michelle Wallace, and Joylene Nowell Butler. And this month is the two year anniversary. So hop on the Linky, release your fears and securities into the world (or offer up some words of encouragement), and join us.

Usually I have something about how you have to dig deep in yourself, or how this whole process can crush your heart and soul beneath the cog of publishing, but I’ve been really slim on words of encouragement.

I’ll admit, I’m not that good at them. I feel awkward when I’m trying to tell someone that I’m over the moon about their work. At DragonCon, I got a book signed by the wonderful and lovely Beth Revis (she was so awesome!) and the whole time I was thinking “be cool, Rena, don’t do the crazy fan girl thing. Someday you’ll be in her shoes if you’re lucky. Freshmen who freak at the seniors have a much harder time than the ones who just recognize the world turns.”

And then we left, with me having barely said what I’d come to say “I loved your books. Thanks for writing them!”

And that made me think about the words of encouragement I’ve received. A tiny little sentence floated to the top.

Many of you may remember that I was sewing like crazy before Dragon Con to get my costumes done. I was moaning about how there was so little time left, and I hadn’t even started working on one of the costumes. The fearless Ninja Captain commented something really simple, “I bet you finish.”

It was transformative for someone else to have faith in my ability. And I was cutting things close (last seam at 11:30pm with a departure at 6 am the next morning), but having someone say they thought I could do it transported me from the anxious “OMG am I going to finish????” To, “I got this, just a matter of time.”

Too often, I see people out there just killing it, and what I should be saying to them is “Bet you can.” I know the writing community has the whole support thing covered, but sometimes you just don’t know how much simple words can change attitudes.

That’s all I’ve got people: say the words of support that are on the tips of your fingers. The small effort on your part could be the difference between a novel and yet another project trunked when the going got tough.