Working
January 25th 2009 08:03
Writing isn't always easy. The words sometimes come only with force. Sometimes we get bogged down trying to create our worlds. We get fed up when we find out that somebody's already had the same idea. We get depressed, bored, fed up, angry with all the world and with our muses.
We get angry because everything we're writing sounds like crap. We get angry because we feel we aren't getting anywhere.
Well I'm going to let you in on a little secret: we are our own worst critics.
We cut ourselves down time and time again; when someone gives us criticism, we take it to heart and think we cannot get better. That we are stuck in a rut.
But we aren't. Maybe we need to find new stories to write, or new ways to tell them; maybe our old stories just aren't working for us anymore. Maybe it's time to move on to something new, to experiment.
Or maybe it's time for us to realize that it doesn't always come easy. Yes, there is a point where a story needs to be given up on-but if you give up the first moment the going gets rough, you'll never finish anything. You'll never be a real writer.
Even when times are rough you have to keep going. If you want to take writing seriously, you have to treat it like you would any job. You can't just quit when the going gets rough-not if you want to retain your dignity. Maybe your livelihood doesn't depend on your writing, but by giving up you entirely throw away the possibility that someday you can make a living by writing.
We all have hard times as writers; but prompts and other such things are there to keep us going through them.
If you're struggling with writing, take a two day break; but come back to it, and be willing to work at it.
Tomorrow: different things you can do to spice up your writing life.
We get angry because everything we're writing sounds like crap. We get angry because we feel we aren't getting anywhere.
Well I'm going to let you in on a little secret: we are our own worst critics.
We cut ourselves down time and time again; when someone gives us criticism, we take it to heart and think we cannot get better. That we are stuck in a rut.
But we aren't. Maybe we need to find new stories to write, or new ways to tell them; maybe our old stories just aren't working for us anymore. Maybe it's time to move on to something new, to experiment.
Or maybe it's time for us to realize that it doesn't always come easy. Yes, there is a point where a story needs to be given up on-but if you give up the first moment the going gets rough, you'll never finish anything. You'll never be a real writer.
Even when times are rough you have to keep going. If you want to take writing seriously, you have to treat it like you would any job. You can't just quit when the going gets rough-not if you want to retain your dignity. Maybe your livelihood doesn't depend on your writing, but by giving up you entirely throw away the possibility that someday you can make a living by writing.
We all have hard times as writers; but prompts and other such things are there to keep us going through them.
If you're struggling with writing, take a two day break; but come back to it, and be willing to work at it.
Tomorrow: different things you can do to spice up your writing life.
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