it has helped me immensely to assign the name *Gollum* to those voices of doubt- to separate them from *me*, from *my* voices, as soon as i hear their little whispers.
That frees me up to claim my writing, exercise, work, drawing, gardening- whatever it is, i can claim it- and look at it more objectively, because those other voices are not mine, they are Gollum.
it actually worked out quite nicely for me as a logic problem. if *i* am the one writing, and *i* know that i write well, then the one doubting and whining and tearing down cant be my writing voices, so let me assign those voices a name (*category*) and separate them. it could have easily been *doubting voices*- just so i know not to give them credence, but to put them in their corner and let them play by themselves.
What I find really helpful as far as writing goes is to have a beta whose opinion I value and trust. I've sent a few stories that I thought were absolute tripe to her and she has reassured me that they were in fact very good stories.
I think writers in general are pretty insecure people and we all go through stages where were wonder why on earth anyone would be the slightest bit interested in reading our pathetic scribbles. My beta is my 'preview audience'. I know that she'll always give me an honest opinion of the work, regardless of whether it's the sort of story she actually enjoys reading or not.
I generally bounce my ideas off Angiepen and I trust her judgment. She's excellent at spotting plot holes or asking questions to make me think about motivation and stuff like that. It's definitely so beneficial to have that sort of critiquing available to you.
I've taken story ideas she thought were good and just tossed them aside, though. I never wrote any more on them. I have no idea why. When I think about it, I just shake my head and say, "Nah." I could kick myself.
The more you write, the more complex your writing becomes and the more challenging it is.
I know I've certain set aside ideas that were very good, but that I, for one reason or another, thought were beyond my capabilities at the time.
Writing, and writing well is hard to do, there's no doubt about that. Having the courage to actually post the story, and it does take courage, make no mistake about that, is a whole other ball of wax.
I don't know. It doesn't make sense, really, because it's not the writing part I'm worried about. I guess it's that I think I don't have a story to tell that anyone wants to hear or hasn't heard before 9 million other ways already. :/
You have to bite the bullet and put yourself out there. I feel the same way about my work, but how are you ever going to get it anywhere if you don't take that first step?
Rejection, especially if you go into writing to sell like I have, is going to happen no matter what you do. Criticism, even when not well done, is nothing but a way to improve your product as long as you know how to take it--ie see what is valid and use it and ignore the rest.
But you have to take the first step. Trust me, I'm chewing my cuticles bloody over my novel, but I'll still put it out there because I truly think that people will want to share my story and my world.
I appreciate your advice. I know you're right about having to play the game in the first place if I want to win, but what's bothering me the most is that I feel my ideas are uncreative and stupid and that nobody but me will want to read them. This has been proven untrue, as I've posted a few ficlets and had people threaten to tie me to the chair and lash my arms to the keyboard to make me continue writing the stories, but I guess I just don't believe it or feel like it was a fluke. :/ It's not logical to feel a way that evidence shows is incorrect, and I hate that I feel that way anyway. :P
( ... )
I think that you have no faith in YOU. People will do what they will--you can't control that.
In the end, you're writing for you, telling stories that you want to tell. If you're lucky, someone will want to visit your world and share your story. But in the end, you're the one who gets the most out of it....
Yes and no. I have a lot of difficulty relating to people in general, because I'm autistic. I do a lot of translating in my head. I can tell my own story in my own way but then generally nobody else is able to catch what I'm intending, and that frustrates me. I'm very logical and concrete, and I wish I could be less so
( ... )
Comments 22
That frees me up to claim my writing, exercise, work, drawing, gardening- whatever it is, i can claim it- and look at it more objectively, because those other voices are not mine, they are Gollum.
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I'm a very logical and concrete person, though, so that may be hard for me to do. I'll give it some thought. Thanks for the suggestion. :D
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it actually worked out quite nicely for me as a logic problem. if *i* am the one writing, and *i* know that i write well, then the one doubting and whining and tearing down cant be my writing voices, so let me assign those voices a name (*category*) and separate them. it could have easily been *doubting voices*- just so i know not to give them credence, but to put them in their corner and let them play by themselves.
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I think writers in general are pretty insecure people and we all go through stages where were wonder why on earth anyone would be the slightest bit interested in reading our pathetic scribbles. My beta is my 'preview audience'. I know that she'll always give me an honest opinion of the work, regardless of whether it's the sort of story she actually enjoys reading or not.
It's definitely a difficult barrier to overcome.
*hugs*
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I generally bounce my ideas off Angiepen and I trust her judgment. She's excellent at spotting plot holes or asking questions to make me think about motivation and stuff like that. It's definitely so beneficial to have that sort of critiquing available to you.
I've taken story ideas she thought were good and just tossed them aside, though. I never wrote any more on them. I have no idea why. When I think about it, I just shake my head and say, "Nah." I could kick myself.
Reply
I know I've certain set aside ideas that were very good, but that I, for one reason or another, thought were beyond my capabilities at the time.
Writing, and writing well is hard to do, there's no doubt about that. Having the courage to actually post the story, and it does take courage, make no mistake about that, is a whole other ball of wax.
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Rejection, especially if you go into writing to sell like I have, is going to happen no matter what you do. Criticism, even when not well done, is nothing but a way to improve your product as long as you know how to take it--ie see what is valid and use it and ignore the rest.
But you have to take the first step. Trust me, I'm chewing my cuticles bloody over my novel, but I'll still put it out there because I truly think that people will want to share my story and my world.
And you should think the same thing, silly.
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In the end, you're writing for you, telling stories that you want to tell. If you're lucky, someone will want to visit your world and share your story. But in the end, you're the one who gets the most out of it....
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