Author Jessica Strawser is your Camp Counselor this week. Find all Camp Care Packages in Breaking News throughout the month of July, or learn more about Camp NaNoWriMo!

I once had the privilege of interviewing Patricia Cornwell—who was adamant that insecurity can be good for a writer.

“I’ll be honest,” she said. “When somebody has written their first novel and they tell me how fantastic it is, I know it’s probably not very good. It’s usually the person who says, ‘I’m not sure what I think…’ and then you look at the thing and go, ‘Now that is really special.’ So it’s not bad to be a little insecure. It makes you work harder and pay attention.”

When I’m pushing through a draft and that hopeless feeling creeps in, I remember this. Feeling uncertain could be a sign of real magic! You’ll never know if you don’t see it through.

Today's Writing Dare

Try an old fashioned word sprint to push through your uncertainty. Set a timer for 15 minutes (or more!) and spend that time just writing—no inner editor allowed. Bonus points for giving a character an unexpected insecurity that comes up in the scene. (My character is embarrassed about how the tops of her feet look...)

What's up at Camp?

• On YouTube: Stuck? Try these 3 Tips for Overcoming Writer's Block.
  
  
• On the blog: Learn how to write a believable setting with these 20 Questions to Ask Yourself When Worldbuilding.
  
  
• Check out the Camp NaNoWriMo Calendar to stay up to date on what's happening, including Virtual Write-Ins every Monday at 1 P.M. Pacific!
  
  

Jessica Strawser is editor-at-large at Writer’s Digest, where she was editorial director for nearly a decade. She’s the author of the book club favorites Almost Missed You and Not That I Could Tell, a Book of the Month selection and Barnes & Noble Best New Fiction pick for March 2018 (both St. Martin’s Press). Her third novel, Forget You Know Me, is forthcoming in February 2019. She has written for The New York Times Modern Love, Publishers Weekly, and others, and is a popular conference speaker. Connect with her on Twitter at @jessicastrawser and on Facebook @jessicastrawserauthor.