Have Confidence.

If you don't show confidence in your own work, then chances are no matter how good the writing, or plot is, no one else will think it's worth the spit you polish your boots with.

Last night I received two compliments on the first page of my Double Trouble manuscript.

"Your writing is clean and crisp. {thank you!}"

That made me smile. I've worked hard to make my writing look professional and it's nice to see that hard work is paying off.

"Great job setting up such high stakes and grabbing reader interest from the get-go."

Hearing this let me know that my opening hook does indeed do it's job. Which is something else I've worked hard to achieve.

I was also given several tips on how to tighten the prose as a whole, and how to better draw the readers into the story and keep them immersed, rather than unintentionally pulling them out of it. Which is not an easy task to accomplish, especially in the beginning. Yet is vital in order to write a compelling story.

My point is that D.T. is finally shaping up into an exciting read and is starting to "feel" like a real book.

In my opinion, that is the best compliment any writer, striving to get a manuscript turned into a published novel can ever receive.

However, none of this would have been possible if I hadn't been confident enough to keep at it, or if I hadn't been confident enough to let a professional read it.

Over the past couple years I've learned to trust in my writing voice and in my writing in general. To trust in the story I need to tell. Throughout the countless revisions {and trust me there have been at least five on the opening scene alone} I've striven to stay positive about the story I'm writing and the way I'm writing it.

Now I'm not saying it's been easy. In fact, many times I've been tempted to pitch it in the trash-bin and start a fresh one. But, I'm too stubborn to just give up after putting so much blood, sweat, and tears into it over the past few years.

Ask anyone who actually knows me and they will tell you: "She's nothing if not stubborn." My husband is sitting beside me shaking his head yes. *grin* It's the truth and I'm not ashamed of it either. Being stubborn has seen me through some harsh times, in and out of writing.

Bottom line? Simple If you don't believe in what you're writing, why should anyone else? Patience and confidence are two key components that all the great writers have in common.