I often forget that writing is a solitary pursuit.
You sit in front of a screen and transcribe all the ideas that flow through your cranium. No one else need even be in the same room. And, if you're like me, you prefer it that way.
But when you finish a story???
You want to shout it from the rooftops! You want banners and parades and people. You want everyone to read those words that you labored over so intensely. You, at this point, want to share.
But you kind of don't.
Let me explain.
Writing, as well as reading, is subjective. Not everyone will like everything. I've given a work to three different review sites. One loved it. One liked it. One thought it was meh.
You must develop a thick skin for any business. But I will add that it best be EXTREMELY thick in any creative business because that business is basically...YOU.
Whether it's the words or designs or art, it's all part of you. And when someone looks at part of you and doesn't like it. Well now. That sort of stings, doesn't it?
Rise above it.
Sure. It's easy to say and hard to do. But it bears repeating. RISE ABOVE IT.
Because the only person that matters when it comes to expressing what you love is you. Become your own critic, if you can. Examine your work with a critical eye. Is the story too wordy? Are the colors too dark? Do the patterns clash?
I find it best to step away from a finished work for at least a month and write on something else. It clears my palate and allows me to view the work from a distance when I reengage.
Do not let the mortal coil wrap around you and drag you down.
Disengage and rise above.
Your work will be the better for it.
Always writing*
You sit in front of a screen and transcribe all the ideas that flow through your cranium. No one else need even be in the same room. And, if you're like me, you prefer it that way.
But when you finish a story???
You want to shout it from the rooftops! You want banners and parades and people. You want everyone to read those words that you labored over so intensely. You, at this point, want to share.
But you kind of don't.
Let me explain.
Writing, as well as reading, is subjective. Not everyone will like everything. I've given a work to three different review sites. One loved it. One liked it. One thought it was meh.
You must develop a thick skin for any business. But I will add that it best be EXTREMELY thick in any creative business because that business is basically...YOU.
Whether it's the words or designs or art, it's all part of you. And when someone looks at part of you and doesn't like it. Well now. That sort of stings, doesn't it?
Rise above it.
Sure. It's easy to say and hard to do. But it bears repeating. RISE ABOVE IT.
Because the only person that matters when it comes to expressing what you love is you. Become your own critic, if you can. Examine your work with a critical eye. Is the story too wordy? Are the colors too dark? Do the patterns clash?
I find it best to step away from a finished work for at least a month and write on something else. It clears my palate and allows me to view the work from a distance when I reengage.
Do not let the mortal coil wrap around you and drag you down.
Disengage and rise above.
Your work will be the better for it.
Always writing*
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