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Catching
up on the posts here, I came across a few by members
who were saying they were giving up on writing. They
found it too hard to get their points across, too hard
to be always misunderstood, and too hard to get critiques.
And
I was reminded of an old piece of advice.
A
long time ago, when I wore a younger man's clothes (apologies
to Billy Joel) I was training to be an actor. And the
best piece of advice I ever got came from a grizzled
old veteran who was teaching Acting 101. He said: "If
you think there's any profession (other than acting)
that will make you happy in this life, then go do it.
Cause THIS profession is too tough to pursue if you
don't really love it."
I
feel really badly that anyone should give up on writing
because of the responses they've gotten here. Harsh
or gentle, straight forward or subtle, all of the comments
I've read were meant to be helpful. (You can argue about
how helpful they really are but that's a separate post.)
They were meant to give the author an idea of what that
person thought of their work. Most were from fellow
writers who are trying to find their own way towards
writing the perfect story. And though some were harsher
than I would have liked, most were meant to be honest.
The
sad truth is: critiques, criticisms, and differing opinions,
are all part of the writing life. When you seek publication
you are exposing yourself to criticism. Get used to
it. There is not a well-known author in the history
of the world that has not been praised and denounced
at the same time. Don't believe me? Write a post of
the top ten greatest authors of all time and see how
fast people disagree with you. It's the nature of the
beast. No writer will appeal to all readers. So you
should expect to see some criticism: now and when you're
a big-name professional.
But
for now, this bulletin board is a great place to hone
our skills. It allows us to read other up-and-coming
writers. See what successes or mistakes they make. Learn
by example. Test out our own skills. The best thing
any of us can do is submit a story and ask for a response.
Because you will get one. But there's a price to pay
for that. And that price is exposing yourself to criticism.
Learning how to deal with it graciously, spotting good
advice from bad advice, and accepting that you may not
have done a good enough job are all part of the process.
Think of it as a "Trial by Your Peers." If
you can learn how to deal with us, here, then you might
just be ready to go out and face the real world. Because
in here, we're all rooting for you. To us you're a kindred
soul, a cyber-buddy, a connection on the road to our
own success. Out there, you're just another wannabe.
And
that's where my old piece of advice comes in. Being
a writer is too tough of a profession to follow if you
don't really love it. And if you feel that the best
thing to do is to stop writing, then that's you're choice.
You will be missed. But if you really love writing,
don't let anybody's criticisms stop you. Use it. Learn
from it. Other people pay good money and take classes
to be abused like this. All you have to do is turn on
your computer. It's the best deal you'll get. Don't
pass it up without a fight.
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