WE WRITERS TEND TO BE AN INSECURE LOT—SCARCELY SURPRISING SINCE WE LIVE WITH FAILURE AND REJECTION
BUT ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO IS TO DEVELOP YOUR INNER VOICE—AND LEARN TO TRUST IT.
IT IS THE ONLY THING (OR PERSON) YOU WILL ABLE TO TRUST ABSOLUTELY.
Let me say here that I regard failing as a writer—by which I mean failing to write quite as well as I would like to believe I can—as being vastly more satisfying and worthwhile than any other activity (I can sustain) that I can imagine.
The challenge is the thing.
As for rejection, it just goes with the territory—as do numerous other setbacks. But, if you haven’t got fortitude as a writer, you should take up something easier like coal-mining, snake-charming, or disarming bombs made by people, who do not have your best interests at heart.
Personally, I think the shrug was invented by a writer—and alcohol certainly was—so we are well equipped to deal with any and all situations. The English language comes in handy too—as in: “Fuck it, and drive on!”
I swear very little these days, but every now and then, it seems to fit the moment.
I ran across the following advice from a piece in Medium.com – and cannot but endorse it.
I still seek feedback, but only to a very limited extent—both because I have had so much lousy advice in the past, and because my inner voice has proved to be remarkably reliable (in the opinion of my inner voice).
Mind you, in some rare situations, it just doesn’t speak.
Then, I feel lonely.
Creativity is a lonely business because, by definition, you are doing something different which will inevitably neither be understood nor agreed with by some—or many—people. Social acceptance is hugely based upon the willingness to conform.
Nice guys don’t ask ‘Why?’
Truly creative people are not just unwilling to conform—they can’t. For genetic and environmental reasons, they are not wired that way. They are restless, unpredictable, questioning, driven souls—who, even if pleasant to the point of being charming—radiate their discontent with the status quo, and thus make their peers uncomfortable.
If you are creative, your life will rarely be easy. Live with it. It gives meaning, purpose, and passion to your existence. You will rarely find better friends.
It will be rewarding.
The following was written by:
Jon Westenberg
Writer, person who writes. You can discover my writing and what makes it unique at:http://www.jonwestenberg.com
Don’t keep asking for feedback
Let me clarify that. Feedback is incredibly important, and I doubt any of us could create anything of value without it.
But there’s a time to take feedback, and that’s when a draft is finished. When every draft is finished.
Nobody can give constructive criticism until they’ve seen your work as whole, even if it’s patched and battered and misshapen.
If you write three chapters of a book or the introduction to a business plan, that’s nothing. It’s not enough for anyone to have a firm grasp of what you’re trying to accomplish, so their feedback is going to be mostly bloody useless.
Any comments they make are probably going to do more harm than good because you’ll go back over an unfinished draft and re-do the work you’ve got.
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