"But my writing stiiiiinks…"
A friend of mine said something on Twitter a few days ago about hating the way they write. Stan has one friend who refused to join a writer’s group simply because she wouldn’t let people see what she wrote. A friend of ours refuses to finish any stories, let alone revise them, because she thinks they’re not good enough.
Is this common, and if so, is it something that ever wears off? (Not that I’ve got Stephen King reading this, but I know there are some of you who have been writing for years.)
I’m not sure where I fall. I do have my moments where I think my writing is pitiful, but they’ve gotten fewer and further between in the past year. I DO believe that I’ve got decent potential. I’m not cocky about it, but I’m not falsely self-bashing either. I do thrive on compliments, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not quite as neurotic as some folks. Of course, this sometimes makes me afraid that my writing IS actually very bad, in a twilight-zone-twist sort of way.
Alright. So, this post is brief today. Long story short, I badly injured my wrist over a year ago, and from time-to-time it hurts for no apparent reason. So I’m going to not anger it further by rambling. But trust me, chances are, your writing probably isn’t nearly as bad as you think it is. I encourage you to get over your fears and give your writing to someone who will give you a genuine opinion. Then listen to it…and then go to writing excuses, because they do a great podcast.
This week, I am to get back on the horse and do some real writing. The last few weeks have been crazy, which is a poor excuse, but I’m using it nonetheless. So, see you Wednesday.
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HA! I tweeted about hating my writing sometimes. I have been writing for years. I’ve attempted fiction at times and more times than not, I hate it. My poetry however is another story. As I’ve written in the past, it has morphed into something entirely new and I really enjoy the process of writing more than the end result. Often I hate the outcome of all my efforts, but I can take pride in the fact that I accomplished something and possibly learned something about myself and my writing in the process.
The pieces I like in the end are so very rewarding and I tend to read them again from time to time. These little joys far outweigh the numerous pieces that seem to be terrible, yet for some reason, I post anyways.
And now I am rambling…
I have a fixed schedule which helps keep me accountable. Even if I don’t want to, or hate what I’ve come up with for a particular post, I publish it anyways. Sometimes, after weeks or years pass, I go back to it and salvage what I can and try to make something new from it.
K, I’ll stop now.
~Loven
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