Reading an article on writing your first book

You have to somehow know that you are capable of enormous idiocies and mistakes and yet not lose your self-confidence in what you’re doing. It’s a difficult line to walk because I know that writer’s block comes almost always from self-doubt.   -Dean Koontz

http://www.buzzfeed.com/sandraeallen/how-to-write-your-first-book

There was an article posted about how to write your first book. Many published authors give their advice.  A few of the authors I have heard of before, several of them I have not.

But when I stumbled upon this line towards the end of the article, it struck a cord with me. 

..............Writers block comes almost always from self doubt. 

Ouch, right!?

So you have to have patience and endurance to over come this. Hey, that's what. I'm thinking it's going to take. 

What helped you get through, despite the obstacles you encountered?

Kiese Laymon: The honest answer is corny and shit. I teach at Vassar. My students got me through. As much as I wallowed in my book not getting published, I couldn’t wallow in it for every second of the day because I had other young people’s writerly lives to tend to. Those relationships with my students and my students’ works pulled me out. And you know music. It was real emo. I’d be like, Somebody’s going to read this book when I’m dead. I’m going to have to die for people to read these books, but at least they’ll read them then.

That's what I thought, that no one will ever read anything I've written until I am gone.  Guess I shouldn't worry about who might read my work. But if I don't do it to start with, then there's  is nothing ever read.  Now there is a thought. Guess I should pick up on things i have started, or start the things that keep popping up in my mind.