I was writing yesterday, and I hit a place in a chapter where I stumbled and had a hard time continuing on, not because I didn’t know what was supposed to happen there, but because I was second guessing myself and what had come to me while I’d been outside thinking earlier in the day. I do this a lot really, second guessing myself when I write, stopping myself from going to the place I was headed out of fear that I might be going too far or that it won’t sit well with others. I’ve found that when I second guess, I’m not usually as happy with how the thing turned out as I am when I just go with my gut, and let the story go where the characters wanted to take it. I found myself wondering how many others out there do the same thing when they write, and if it was just a common thing in writers, or if I was spending too much time ‘thinking’ and not enough time just going with the flow. I recently read over the first story I posted here to GA, Cold Confusion, and I could actually count all the places where I second guessed myself and didn’t go where I had intended to go. I like the story, but I think it could have been a stronger one if I’d written what had come to mind, rather than downgraded, downplayed, shortchanged, or downright did away with some of the thing that I’d had planned. One day maybe I’ll re-write that one and add in all the things I left out.