Thursday, August 17, 2017

Writer--Don't Be So Hard On Yourself


For those who are regular readers of this blog, you've heard me say that lots of negatives in our writing life are good lessons for us. The one thing they are not is a life without pardon kind of sentence. Go ahead--make mistakes, learn from them and move on.

We learn from rejections, especially multiple rejections on the same submission. At least, we hope we learn something and we will if we give it a few days to rest and then go through whatever was written with an objective eye. Pick out the parts you think did not appeal to an editor. Maybe it was a lot of mechanical errors. Or perhaps the clarity factor was pretty low. It might have been a dull report without any emotion or sensory detail. 

Consider yourself fortunate if the editor returns your work with a note telling you why it was rejected. There is no question then as to what you must correct but not all editors take the time, or are kind enough. to do that. Don't let it be the end of your writing world. Move on!

What if you received a brutal critique from another writer? Ouch! It does hurt and any good critiquer will be fair and honest and deliver with a dash of kindness. However, not everyone is like that. You don't have to like what the person told you but you can learn from it. There is no need to back into a corner and put your hands over your eyes and let forth with a piercing scream while you contemplate your next step in life. Sadly, there are writers who have given up writing after an experience like this. Today's quote is perfect for them. It was one person's opinion and perhaps a good lesson. But you should never feel that you must quit over a singular incident such as this.

Did you ever have a teacher who scribbled cruel words across your essay or poem that you slaved over for your English class? I know people who have a mental block when it comes to writing because of just such an experience. Again, it's a lesson, not a life sentence. As a teen, it was probably hard for us to take that objective look and figure out what was wrong, what lesson was learned. But, now as an adult, it something like this still haunts you, put it in perspective. Don't let one person keep you from being the writer you wanted to be. An attitude of I'll show them! will serve you best here.

It's much harder to look at problems like these as a lesson to be learned than it is to give up. Giving up is easy; working at the lesson is a tough job but, oh, so beneficial. 




1 comment:

  1. i am really admire your idea of " never be a prisoner of your past" , yes of course until we suffer for our past we are blind and can't see next step. past mean not long past just second ago. even we wish or not something will happen in next second. nobody can not stop it, but people can change the appearance of change and they can colour it as their mind. buffering with past is foolish thing and worrying about future also foolish thing. what we should do is relax with existing and stay and live with current situation. if i win my mind i am the winner of life game, if i fail front of thoughts of mind and feeling it is my defeat of life.

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