What is a writer's biggest mistake?
Adverbs? Too many adjectives? Dialogue tags? Saggy middles?
No, no, no, and no.
I believe the biggest blunder we commit as writers is allowing our possibilities to dwindle.
We all fall into funks of self-doubt and insecurity now and then. That's part and parcel of a creative life. Sometimes when we're discouraged we might distance ourselves from our creative process and products. We stop writing, revising, querying, blogging, or going to conferences/workshops.
In Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Betty Edwards describes a "crisis period" in the artistic development of a child where their drawing has been misinterpreted or criticized and the hurt from that judgment can make the child stop drawing altogether.
Anyone who has been rejected by an agent, editor, lost a contest, or had a less than flattering critique can relate to that moment where you want to give up to avoid any more hurt.
Withdrawal from the creative process zaps the soul of an artist. Worse than that, if you pull away from writing when successes arent' stacking up, you rob yourself of possibilities. No querying - no requests for your work. No revising and writing - no new product to send out. No blogging or conference/workshop attending - no sense of community and support.
Don't make the mistake of letting your possibilities drain away. I've fallen into that trap and it can be tricky to pull yourself out. Honor your creativity and don't give up your passion because you were bonked on the head by subjectivity.
In honor of the 4th of July, I leave you with the immortal words of Katy Perry.
Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh, oh, oh
As you shoot across the sky
Here are two new possibilities for you to grab:
An agent pitch contest with Claire Anderson-Wheeler of Anderson Literary Management on the
Writerly Rejects blog – July 9th
A editor editor pitch contest with Entangled Publishing Pitch Contest on Brenda Drake’s blog – July 16th
So true! I love the Drawing on the Right Side book - I use some of the exercises with my students :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so important to keep those possibilities open. Timely reminder for me :)
Good advice. We all need to rethink and regroup. Get our Mojo back! I recently joined a local writer's critique group and it's great. Now I have accountability which is keeping me writing instead of putting it on the back burner.
ReplyDeleteExcellent advice~ nobody knows how to throw a pity party like a rejected writer (trust me, I've hosted many a depressing 1-person gatherings, mostly involving eating large amounts of salty food and re-reading Harry Potter).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the contest info!
I have an ongoing table at the Poor Me Cafe. They have a delicious mocha ice cream mud pie.
DeleteWe've all been there. Rejection hurts and sometimes giving up seems like the right path. I believe many writers can't entirely give up since writing is in their blood, but I know of others who have. They don't see their potential and possibilities. Great post, Leslie. It's important to allow our creative juices to flow in the face of hurt and rejection.
ReplyDeleteI usually get a headache when my right brain dukes it out with my left brain. Guess which one usually wins? :)
ReplyDeleteYou're so right :)
ReplyDeleteI have fallen into that trap more than once, unfortunately. Sometimes, interestingly enough, it's not that I've become discouraged and stopped querying/submitting/whatever, it's that I've become distracted LOL Either way, it's not the road to a happy ending :)
~ Rhonda Parrish
I agree! Do it because you love it, then the criticism and critique isn't really that important or hurtful anymore. Instead, it can help you to see it from another angle, opening up more wondrous possibilities! Great post, thanks! ~ Jess
ReplyDeleteAh, needed this today. Got an R on a previously accepted work (not sure why)... so I wallowed in it for a minute, then remembered something Marilyn Monroe once said: Sometimes something good falls apart so that something better can fall together. Not such a dumb blonde, that one.
ReplyDeleteHope everyone's enjoying a Happy Fourth! Thanks for the encouragement, Leslie!
Funny you wrote about a child stopping drawing b/c they were criticized- in 6th grade I was told by the visiting art teacher who came once every two weeks that I couldn't draw. My mother confirmed this. I believed them and never tried again until a few years ago. Guess what, I taught myself to draw. My kids think I'm an artist. I'm not by any means, but whenever they need a picture for a report, they beg me to draw it. I don't, I show them how I learned to draw and they do something age appropriate.
ReplyDeleteThese are also the same people that persuaded me not to try to be an author when I graduated. I listened. So I feel like I'm really late to the game. But I'm not going to give up. Even if I fail, it's better than not trying.
Heather
Leslie, it is so easy to fall into this trap. We're human. We have doubts. We have insecurities. We're allowed to feel like doggie do when bad stuff happens. But thanks to great writer friends like you, I'm never in the dumps for very long.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Leslie. I think writers need a lot of (blind) encouragement but for many that's hard to come by. Not always easy to push yourself on.
ReplyDeleteAnd it's all daunting at every level. Even when you're multi-published, you'll still suffer from those inevitable terrible reviews.
Still I think it's better to put yourself out there with all the consequences than to withdraw. Thanks for such an inspiring post.
A wonderful and inspiring post, Leslie. And you said exactly what we all need to hear. Good job at buoying the writerly spirit.
ReplyDeleteYep. You are so right.
ReplyDeleteWhat an encouraging and inspiring blog post! I often think that perseverance is the key to this writing and publishing business. Actually, perseverance is probably necessary for all kinds of life hurtles.
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT! Always good to have something inspiring! We really can't give in to dead ends. There is no such thing... right! Thanks so much for sharing this. And the contests too! I'm going to check them out!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I could lighten a few hearts. xo
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing some new possibilities!
ReplyDeleteP.S. My "Journeys of Wonder" arrived today. Looking forward to it. :)
ReplyDeleteYay. Hope you enjoy it. *breaks out in a sweat*
DeleteWhen I was homeschooling my girls I was always trying to find the fine line of balance. As a parent I wanted to praise their every effort, but as a teacher I also had to point out areas that needed attention and improvement. I was always afraid of squashing their delicate creative ego.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this post, Leslie. It's good to be among people who "get it" and know what it's like to battle that funk.
Ruth, I agree with you that teachers hold so much power over a child's sensibilities. I stopped grading with a red pen years ago after I read an article about the harsh psychological impact of the color on a student's psyche.
DeleteComing back to tell you I've left something for you at The Write Game.
ReplyDeletePopped over. Thank you. Thank you.
DeleteI'm bookmarking this page for the next time I get feedback or for when I start querying. :D
ReplyDeleteLeslie, I can't believe we wrote about the same problem of dream crushing. How sad about children who won't continue to enjoy art because of one comment. We adults can learn a lesson from that.
ReplyDeleteOkay...I can feel the firework in me - it may be one of those little ones, but a firework it is.
ReplyDeleteI've been in that trap before. You are right. It takes a while to pull out of it.
What a wonderful post! I love that you are encouraging so many people at once. You are right that we cannot let us get down on ourselves and our ideas. There will always be people who like what we do and people who don't. We need to keep believing in ourselves. I love the Katie Perry verse! Perfect!
ReplyDeleteYou are right. Writing is tough, thousands of things to learn. Fail at one and that ole tempter with horns and pitchfork shows up saying, "Why don't you just quit? You know you can't do this." To which the perfect answer is "Watch me!"
ReplyDeleteAnd after you've answered thus a few dozen times, the evil *bleep* goes away and never comes back. Right?
I must come to this post on the down days. What you say is true and we all need to remind ourselves!
ReplyDeleteTruer words were never spoken - er, written. YOU ARE AWESOME. Good thing I'll never LET you give up.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, yeah, I remember that moment when someone criticized my rainbow unicorn drawings and I never drew them again. :(
ReplyDeleteSomeone also picked on some story titles I had written in a school notebook, but thank goodness it didn't stop me writing.
So important to teach kids - friends - anyone - to believe in themselves and what they can accomplish if they don't give up!!!
I really needed to hear this. Thank you for always being so encouraging, helpful and inspiring!
ReplyDeleteSarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
I'm glad my creative side always wins out, but it is tough. We are in a subjective business, which makes it harder. Not everyone will love what we do even if we win a Pulitzer or Nobel.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the upbeat post, Leslie! I'm my own worst enemy. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're so right, Leslie. We can forgive all the grammar errors, and we do, if the story resonates and takes us to a satisfying conclusion. Thanks for visiting my blog, Leslie. Have a great week.
ReplyDelete