First of all, I know that the shame I felt because I never finished any stories was what held me back from finishing stories was the shame that I harbored over the possibility that this writing will go to waste. It’s counterintuitive but shame does not breed creativity.
What it does breed is fear, and guilt, and regret. Fear that you’re choosing the wrong story to finish. Guilt that you’ve left behind so many stories. Regret that you couldn’t stick with the idea even though you loved it so much.
These things can and will limit your creativity and productivity and they make it exponentially harder to finish any story you write.
But that’s genuinely beside the point. You shouldn’t be clearing out your shame simply for the sake of doing what your shame is trying to get you to do. That is a cyclical way to stop writing completely.
Second of all, there is no such thing as “wasted” writing. All writing is beneficial to you; it will help you cultivate your skills, even if it’s unfinished.
Even if you only ever write the first three chapters of twenty stories, you’ll be better at writing than if you never wrote at all. Even if you never write bridge scenes because you only want to write the most climactic, impressive parts of the story, you’re still better than you were.
Third of all, and most importantly, THOSE TWO THINGS DO NOT MATTER.
It doesn’t matter if you’re able to write more when you let go of that shame, or that you’re still fostering your skills if you write! Because writing is an artform and it should have the respect of any other artform!
I’m not a singer by any definition of the word. My voice is bad, I’m not good at it, I never want to do it professionally, and I don’t consider myself one. But I sing anyway. I sing concerts, albums, musicals; I sing when I walk, when I shower, when I do dishes. It makes me happy.
For people who want to be singers, that’s great. But being a singer is difficult, lonely, and requires a lot of luck. Few people who sing actually want to be singers.
Writing is the same way, in my opinion. Few people who write want to become writers (and oftentimes the only reason people “want” to be a writer is because society has taught them that the only way art is valid is if it’s a career path).
You don’t have to be good at writing. You don’t have to do a lot of writing. Writing is an artform, a way to release your emotions, a way to relate to the world. If the way in which you best release your emotions and relate to the world is by writing stories you never finish, all the more power to you!
I can go on and on about the benefits of letting go of that shame of never finishing and accepting your writing for what it is. My craft has improved exponentially since I’ve done this. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. If you can’t finish a story then you won’t be able to shame yourself into doing it, so why bother trying? Do what makes you happy. Write the scenes you want to write.
The sooner you are able to write for writing’s sake, the more you’ll like you’re writing, objective quality and how close to finished it is aside.
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