Sometimes I don't get my writing.
Some days I think I'm brilliant, some days I think I suck.
Some days I can't write a word to save my life, some days I can't stop.
Sometimes writers get not so good reviews and sometimes they get this in their Twitter feed.
"Never Eighteen
is phenomenal! I cried so much; I'm in love with Austin and Kaylee. :)"Okay, maybe that's only me.
I will say this, coming off a weekend of writerly uncertainty, this comment today made me believe in myself again. Yes, some days I question myself. I think we all do. We wonder if we're good enough, if we have what it takes. I have to keep in mind, someone liked my writing enough to rep it, someone liked it enough to publish it. Not everyone is going to like it. I get that. I have to get over it. I need to focus on the people who do like it to keep going. The review from the above mentioned commenter will be available May 8th. She's my new BFF (she does not know this yet, ;) )
Laters,
~megan
yes, this.
ReplyDeleteI keep, keep, keep reminding myself that if it were all good, it would start to feel very false. Art is subjective. People even hate the Great Gatsby.
Hang in there, girl. :)
Congrats on the great review! I think it's nice to get good feedback from people we know, but there is the uncertainty of what part of them just loves ME versus what part loves my writing. A nice review from someone who wasn't your BFF until now ROCKS!
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to keep your focus on WHY we write when you get reviews that aren't very flattering. We write because we love it, and we write for the people who love it. So what if some people don't. Yin and Yang. It's the balance of life.
ReplyDeleteNegative reviews are always hard to follow. I think when we start out writing we never realize how tough of skin we have to grow, sadly. But we always have to remember that we write for our selves and those who love our work!
ReplyDeletebeing a writer is like being on an emotional roller coaster in a land of feast and famine.
ReplyDeleteToo true to both of you. I keep thinking I have this ultra thick in-penetrable skin, but in truth, I'm a wuss.
ReplyDeleteI hated The Great Gatsby. That last sentence, so extolled as one of the finest of last sentences in literature, just makes my eyes roll right out of my head. Just saying.
ReplyDeleteAhem.
Congrats Megan! This is just the start of a full career; may it all be mostly more like this. :)
Aw, what a great new BFF you have! Sounds like you got that lovely feedback just when you needed it.
ReplyDeleteI'm already preparing for negative reviews by reminding myself that even the best writers get them, but I know that seeing them will still suck.
I think your peeps here said it all (and so did you, come to think of it :) ), but it's so true: we have to remind ourselves that writing is a fluid art form -- and other people can and will send ripples through it. Love that you're reminding yourself and us to balance that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments ladies. and yes, everyone gets bad reviews, Stephen King, JK Rowling, etc. And honestly, I haven't gotten a really bad one. Just a couple mediocre. lol.
ReplyDelete