I’ve started about fifty posts in the last twenty four hours, and not made it past the first paragraph on any of them. They all seem too trite or petty or something else that makes them not appropriate to share.
But I’ve had this thought rolling in my head for a while, and something triggered it again today, so I’m going to share. There is a quote that’s been floating around the internet for a while.
I love the quote and I love the sentiment behind it. As writers, we’ve got taste, and we struggle and work and sweat and ache to figure out how to put that vision on paper. How to make the rest of the world see it. But I think it has to be taken a step further.
Because we want other people with taste to enjoy what we’ve created, right?
Do you remember some of the first times you shared your writing with people? How amazing it felt to hear them say “This is really good”. Or “I loved this.” Or “You’ve got talent.” Or some variation of praise. For your work. Do you remember how that felt?
In high school, I had a couple of short stories that were published in school literary magazines. I still have copies. I look back at those stories and cringe at how bad they were. But my teacher appreciated them enough to pluck them from stacks of other stories and print them for the school to see.
Once you get that praise, you get the idea that maybe you could do more of this writing thing. It becomes an almost addictive feeling. Wanting more people to read, more people to ‘get’ your vision. To say “you’re right, I really enjoyed this.”
And that’s where the journey toward publication kind of begins. “Well, how do I get my work out there?” and that’s inevitably when the first criticism really hits hard. We think “I’m good” and someone comes back with “No, you’re not.”
For me at least, that’s when the self-doubt really started to set in.
But here’s the thing to keep in mind: if those first people liked it enough to read it, to praise it, and to ask for more, there’s something there.
It may not be as honed as it can be yet, mostly because it never will be because we’ll always grow and learn as writers and artists if we allow ourselves to. But there was something in your writing, your voice, your delivery, that made someone else go ‘WOW’ and mean it.
So yeah, it may be hard work. But look back at how far you’ve come. Even if you’re tempted to say ‘but I just started’. It doesn’t matter. You started. You took it to the next level. You’re pursuing that talent that impressed those people.
And there’s a feeling of accomplishment in that, right?
Most of the time I wish people hadn’t praised me back in middle school. Then I might have found something more productive to do with my time. Then I look at my bank statement and see royalties from Amazon in my account, which makes me feel a little better.
It’s so true, I love that quote. You’ve just got to keep on trying and believe in yourself, because if you don’t, who will? 🙂
I have to learn to believe in myself without external validation. I got so caught up in how family members loved my work (because they loved me) that when I got my first rejection I was crushed. My delusions of grandeur did not help me out.
Am I a good writer? Yes. Do I still have a lot to learn? Definitely. I have my third novel with beta readers right now and the worst thing they could tell me is that they liked it. That won’t help me improve. Rip my manuscript to shreds, I can take it. I’ll just rebuild it better than before.
The funny thing is that with other talents we expect to work–a ballet dancer, for instance, expects to practice for hours as day; a musician expects to have to rehearse; an actor ditto; a painter expects to have to draft sketches before he can paint; with every other talent it makes sense to us that we have to add practice and skill to the native ability.
But of course, with our writing we get surprised by that.
So yes–you can see talent even when it’s raw. But the point is that talents have to be developed–practice and skill.
The key is to always enjoy the fact that you have talent, because IMHO if you don’t, all the practice and skill in the world will only make you passable.
(And, in passing, Lori, you have talent. 😉 )
Thanks for the little jolt of feel good emotions today. Somedays I feel great about my writing, but somedays I get discouraged.
No one praised my writing in school or college, not my fiction writing anyway. College profs always told me I should become a reviewer of films, books or art. They said I had a talent for analyzing art. Problem is, I like making art. My father and grandfather were non-fic authors. Maybe I’ll never make it as a fiction writer, but I’ll give it my best shot.