One of the greatest disappointment challenges we face as writers is that of self-esteem. If your great story is rejected, criticized or questioned, it can eat away at your sense of self worth until you conclude you’re a bad person. It’s important that you love the one you’re with: YOU! You’re with you more than anyone on the planet…yes even Aunt Bessie who follows you into the bathroom. You have to guard your beliefs so that rejection doesn’t equal bad person. It’s a common malady but there are things you can do to help. Here are what I consider the top five: Hold a pity party! No, you didn’t misread that. For 11 minutes and 43 seconds, party hearty. Mumble and grumble about how unfair life is and how disappointed […]
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About Reba J. Hoffman
Reba J. Hoffman is a natural encourager and Member Care Coach at My Book Therapy. She has a PhD in clinical counseling and is the founder and president of New Hope Institute of Counseling. Reba uses her gift of encouragement to help writers overcome negative emotions so they can live their dream of being a writer. Her works appear in publications such as Running for the Woman’s Soul by Road Runner Sports and The Good Fight by Donna Hicken. She is the author of Dare to Dream, a Writer’s Journal published by My Book Therapy. She also publishes a motivational and encouraging blog, FindingTrue North. Contact her at reba@mybooktherapy.com.Author Archive | Reba J. Hoffman
Dealing With Disappointment, Part 2: Why Don’t I Feel Better?
Remember in the Sound of Music when after all the Von Trapp children did everything to overcome their disappointment after discovering Maria had returned to the Abby? They sang and tried to brave their feelings only to have the smallest one, Gretta, utter in despair, “Why don’t I feel better?” That same sigh is all too common when writers are disappointed. Even when they try to grin and bear it, they still wind up with a heavy hearts. Your hopes lifted your spirits to an all-time high, only to toss you out of the plane without a parachute. When you plummeted back to earth, you emotionally crashed and burned. Please don’t agree with me and stop reading now. Listen to your heart. Fire in your soul, whether it is from […]
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Dealing With Disappointment, Part One: Ouch! That Hurts!
Many of you recently attended the ACFW annual conference in Dallas. Those who did pinned hopes on getting some sort of exciting news or opportunity. MBT Voices overall received overwhelmingly positive news. So why am I writing this? Because with the sweet comes the bitter. I’ve dealt with and helped people through disappointment for decades. There are some things I’ve seen in the circumstance that contributes to the emotion of disappointment that I want to share. Having Unrealistic Expectations. Truly there are novice novelists who go to their first conference expecting that the biggest publishers in the industry will stand in line to snatch up their masterpiece…that hasn’t quite been finished. Ok, it really hasn’t been written yet, but with a contract in hand, they could stay up late one […]
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