Comparing Yourself to Other Writers

Today's quote--"Don't compare yourself to others"--is one for your everyday living but also for your writing journey. Each of us is a unique individual with different traits, habits, thoughts, and reactions.

One writer brushes off rejections like a piece of lint on a sleeve while another agonizes for days over each one they get.

Some writers spend hours and hours on one 1000 word essay while others dash it off, give it a quick edit and call it good.(Bad idea, by the way!)

There are writers who have carved an exact portion of the day as writing time, while others snatch bits and pieces of time to write whenever, however, and wherever they can.

All writers find story ideas but how they approach the writing itself can be quite different. One writer will get so inspired he/she sits down at the computer and types the first draft in record time. Another writer will let the idea do acrobatics in his/her mind for days before ever writing the first paragraph.

Writers submit their work in a different manner, too. Some will look for a market, and when they find one that looks like a fit, send the submission. Others will scour the markets, make a list, and rank them from the first choice to last before choosing one.

The point is that we are not all alike so there is no reason to compare your writing and method of writing to that of other writers. You should do what works for you. If my writer friend Willa Wannabe spends weeks and weeks on one piece of writing, that doesn't mean you have to. If your writing buddy, Sammy Sub, submits five pieces of writing a week, that's fine. You don't have to do the same.

If you spend too much time comparing your writing and your writing life to what others do, you'll only end up worrying that you're not doing what you should. Forget comparing yourself to some other writers.

Instead, set goals for your personal writing life. Work toward them. Rejoice when good things happen on your writing journey and learn from the ones that don't work out so well.