How do I have confidence in my work?

“You have to believe in yourself – at the same time you need to have doubt, because it means you are creating something.
If you have no doubt …
If you are too sure of yourself
you close your mind.
I’m sure the customer can feel it.
Be sure and at the same time be open”

Hermes perfumer,
JEAN CLAUDE ELLENA

I watched a BBC perfume documentary while researching for my next book, and it illustrated how perfume making is an art. I loved the fascinating segment with the perfumer Jean Claude Ellena giving advice about the creative process to students.

You can watch the documentary on Amazon Prime.  Part 1: Something Old, Something New is free with Ads. The scenes with John Claude Ellena are from Perfume: Part 2 Bottling the Memory*.

 *

Ellena makes a bold declaration that you must doubt yourself. It is a necessary part of the process, as long as you continue to have faith in what you create, in yourself and in your art.

Just because something has worked in the past, doesn’t mean you have to or you should do the same again. Don’t “close your mind”, Ellena advises, “Be open.”

In my case, writing a story is only the first step; polishing (or revision) takes more time and really challenges me. Sometimes I will reject what I’ve been working on because of one key element, such as tone, pacing or lack of tension in a scene. Mostly, I go by nebulous feelings. The story doesn’t feel right – something is wrong with it – and I can’t always express or understand what that is until I dig deeper into the characters motivations.

Why is Lillia still with the Baron in Book 2?

I hated the idea that she was just a victim. Or even worse, a passive victim without hope of escaping her dreadful circumstances. I didn’t want her to become a character that does nothing but react to outside forces.

Only recently, after working on the draft of Book 2 for months now, I think I’ve finally figured it out. I often feel as if I take one step forward and ten steps back when I work. I doubt myself all the time, and now if I’m going to take Ellena’s advice, I need to believe in my work.

That confidence is hard to build. Does it take more experience? Is it perseverance? Haruki Murakami compared writing a novel to running a marathon. If that’s the case, I’m somewhere on an agonizing hill, still looking up toward the peak. (I recommend reading his book; well worth your time: What I talk about when I talk about running. *)

Here’s a quote from the end of the documentary:

“Perfume is an art about time.
It takes time to create, time to think about it.
Time to have it on the skin, telling its story.”

Most creativity is about time.

You have the work at learning your craft, and the execution: writing, composing, drawing, designing, painting,  and creating.

It takes time to share your work with people; whether by posting online, displaying in a gallery, an art show, at a conference, a bookstore, a concert hall, a perfume shop at the airport. Unless you strike lightning and your work goes viral, then you wait for people to find you and there’s the time they spend experiencing your creation, looking, listening, playing, reading, or smelling.

I’m not sure I answered my question: how do you have confidence in your work? Feel free to share any of your experiences in the comments!

(*Amazon Affiliated Links)