Ever think you, especially if you’re a writer, are alone in your self-doubt?
Fear not alone. Even the best work hard to keep their self-esteem high and dry. Pioneer sci-fi writer Octavia E. Butler wrote pep talks to herself.
Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was a multiple Hugo Award and Nebula Award winner. She was the first science fiction writer to receive the MacArthur Fellowship’s “Genius Grant.” All that, plus she was the first African-American woman to be officially recognized as a fabulous sci-fi writer.
Despite her achievements, she worked to bolster herself. Tangible evidence exists as part of “Octavia E. Butler: Telling My Stories,” a new exhibition dedicated to her life and work, at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens (also called The Huntington) in Los Angeles. She left her collection to The Huntington, including extensive drafts, notes, and research materials for more than a dozen novels, numerous short stories, and essays, as well as correspondence, ephemera, and assorted books.
Born in Pasadena, California, Butler started writing as a kid. It took her a long time and suffering through many non-writing jobs to develop her style and eventually sell many, many stories, including her Patternist series, her Xenogenesis series, and her Parable series (aka Earthseed series).
Amazing post… Loved it😊
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I feel sufferings makes one feel the inner unknown strength.enjoyed reading this n getting determined.😀letz all keep dat faith alive in us for watever comes our way.
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Exactly– positive thoughts all around 😀
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Oh, I love this. Thank you for writing down your visions, Octavia, and sharing them so that we writers who struggle with self-doubt (and anyone who is a writer struggles with self-doubt) can be soothed by your ability to prop yourself up and keep going on. Peace to you, wherever you may be.
And thanks for sharing, da-AL!
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Love this!
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Hi da-AL,
Thank you for stopping by my (poor) blog.
Your blog and your story are very interesting.
All the best!
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same to you 🙂
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Great post, which applies to all artists not just writers! 🙂
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glad you enjoyed it – yes, I agree, it applies to so much about goals & living well 🙂
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