THE REAL LJ IDOL SEASON 8 WEEK 24: In Your Wheelhouse

[ellakite]

Comments

[phoenixisrisen]

Wow.
Thank you. And yea, keep writing.
<3

[ellakite]

I should have responded to this *MUCH* sooner:

Thank you *SO* much for your support.

[whirlgig]

I am so sorry it took you so long to feel comfortable enough to share your thoughts with the world - I am so sorry that jerk did that to you - a similar thing happened to me when I was fourteen, and I told a boy I wanted to be a writer, and he laughed for literally 10 minutes and said it was the weirdest thing he'd ever heard, and not in a good way

[ellakite]

I'll take another look at the second section. I've already condensed it once, but I'll see if I can do it again. Part of the problem is that I *DO* want to reiterate the bit about understanding computers to indicate why I didn't seriously pursue writing before now. But I'll try to condense a couple of those statements into one, and see what I think of it.

Thanks for the feedback.

[ellakite]

PS: I meant to clarify something that you mentioned in your comment.

I would like to read your book one day :)

I'm sorry, but you seem to have misunderstood something. Then again, I didn't really make the point clear in my post:

The story I've been working out in my head since early childhood does not represent a book.

The last time I sat down and determined the level of detail required to tell the tale properly, I figured I'd need at least fifteen good-sized novels.

Sorry if I disappointed you...

[whirlgig]

I WILL READ ALL FIFTEEN. :)

I hope you do decide to consider having your writing published one day - whether that be short stories or long form. I think you have a clear and descriptive voice which many people respond to. As you say, it's a lot of hard work, but the end of this entry is so positive it gives me hope you will do just that one day :)

[alien_infinity]

My dad once made me feel so bad about a story I showed him that I didn't show him anything else of mine for years. I asked him what the hell he was thinking being so dismissive, and he told me he had made me feel like such crap because he wanted me to do my homework. At first, he wouldn't even acknowledge why that was so wrong. I may have gotten through to him, but I bet that did a lot of damage to my already-battered self-confidence.

I...don't have much self-confidence, to put it mildly.

[ellakite]

As you see in my tale, my self-confidence was battered repeatedly by multiple parties at multiple times. And the fact that my mother *NEVER* acknowledged *ANY* of my successes was perhaps the worst -- when I finally landed my first full-time job, the woman claimed I only got the position because she had been praying to St. Anthony on my behalf!

But I'm sick of self-pity, so how's this: I'll tell you that your writing is awesome (because it's true)... and you can tell me that my writing is more enjoyable than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick (which is only a slight fib). OK?

[alien_infinity]

Your writing is far more enjoyable that a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! It is fantastic. ^_^

[ellakite]

*SIGH*

Self-effacement is a very hard habit for me to break. Even though I was *OBVIOUSLY* joking, I really should stop it. It's not good for my self-esteem.

I've just started reading other folks pieces (including yours), and I initially felt that my effort this week was "mediocre" in comparison.

What I *REALLY* need to do is remind myself that at this stage of the game, all of my competitors are *GIANTS*.

(That includes you, BTW.)

Thanks so much for the feedback.

[ellakite]

There's self-doubt... and there's having no self-esteem. There was a long period where I even dismissed my success in my chosen profession. OK, I'm no Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, but when fellow programmers come to you for answers, you must be doing *SOMETHING* right. But for too damned long, I kept denying my talent...

It was hard enough for me to see my most obvious talent. It's much harder for me to see this other one... but I'm getting there. And feedback from fellow Idolers have helped me in a *BIG* way.

Thank you for your support and your feedback.

[sweeny_todd]

this was great. The format just *works* I really enjoy the way the two stories are so different but inextricably interlinked :-)

[ellakite]

The way I view it, they're both the same story, just with different focuses and emphasis.

Then again, we're talking about *MY* story here, so you can understand if I consider the tales to be two views of the same journey.

But thank you for letting me know you like the format. It was a bit daring for me, and I wasn't sure how effective it would be. I appreciate knowing that you liked that aspect of my piece.