Don't Give Up
One of my blogging friends was feeling sad even though he is published because, basically, he’s worried about being a mediocre writer.
It is easy to worry about this.
There’s that essential sense of horror about never being good enough, never making a difference, never being on a NYT bestseller list or being nominated for a National Book Award.
That’s not what writing is all about. (Note: I forget this a lot.) Another much lauded writer friend of mine shared on her social media about how a reader just contacted her about a book she’d written 10 years ago and how it had changed his life. Her book. Her book did that.
One of my friends who became my husband wrote me this in an email back when he was just my friend when I was worrying about not doing enough good in the world because I am just a writer:
“You never know what kind of positive effect you are having in someone’s life as an author. Even if it is just that someone can escape for an hour from their life, that may be the best part of their day. Think of the kid who doesn’t like their home life or maybe their school life or maybe both. When they pick up a book by Carrie E. Jones, they get to escape the realities of their life and lose themselves in somebody else’s for a while. How cool is that?”
If you are a published writer and having a bad day, you can just substitute your name in there for Carrie E. Jones because it’s true for everyone.
If you are unpublished writer and having a bad day, you can do the same thing because you are writing; you are creating; you are escaping and thinking and plotting and feeling; and that is a positive for you FOR YOU and hopefully for other people too some day.
Being a writer can be hard. People write stuff in reviews that can be cruel rather than constructive. People make you stress about being your authentic self, about whether or not your stories are even worth telling.
You’ve got to ovary up to deal with that stuff when you’ve poured your heart and soul into a story.
So, be kind to authors when you review them. And musicians. And businesses. Don’t get off on being clever and cruel. Get off on being kind, okay?
Spreading kindness is so much lovelier than spreading cruelty.
That’s true about your own self, too. It’s okay to mess up, to not be perfect, to confuse the uses of ; and : or occasionally writing pubic for public. Don’t let that stop you. Keep going. You’ve got a dream. Okay?
Writing Exercise
The Story Shack has a pretty fun writing prompt and first line generator that you should go check out. These were mine when I went over there.
Once you have the link, keep writing!
Place to Submit!
Rockvale Review Seeks Submissions for Poetry, Short Fiction, and CNF
Deadline: March 31, 2023
We’re reading for Issue Ten now and would love to see your work! We publish poetry, short fiction, and CNF. We’re looking for writing that is bold and has an edge but is balanced with vulnerability and beauty. We read blind so no names on your work. This issue will be published online in May. Please read the full guidelines on our website.
The website! rockvalereview.com/submissions/
