MissV, if North Carolina allowed for the filing of defamation suits in small claims, then handling an action on your own might not be difficult. North Carolina, however, does not hear defamation suits in small claims. You would be filing your claim in Superior Court. The problem with handling a suit on your own in a higher court is that you are expected to know all of the rules and procedures.
What exactly is your proposed defamation claim over? Many people who believe they have been defamed actually have not, or do not have an actionable claim. A simple review of what is considered slanderous or libelous can often be enough to tell whether there is a defamation action worth the high cost of pursuing.
Defamation suits are not considered easy legal actions. A lot of money is often at stake for both parties, so these suits tend to be fought vigorously, which prolongs the court action and ratchets up the cost of litigation significantly. The party who has an experienced attorney has a legal advantage.
If you want to get an idea of what can be involved by going pro se in a defamation suit, you may wish to use the search feature at the top of the page and, in the "User Name" box, enter the name "jci63." jci63's threads center on a defamation suit he had filed in Michigan, and his appeal to Michigan's Supreme Court. His posts indicate in a very real way the time, effort and expense (not to mention the personal costs) that are involved in a suit, and the difficulties of doing it all without an attorney.