They say that to be a good writer, first you have to read, read, read. Read the genre your prefer, read genres you don't. Read children's, young adult, and adult. Read short stories, read long stories. Read poems and prose. Read bestsellers, and read self published.
This isn't a chore for me. I love reading and have a growing library of my own whilst making frequent use of the public library available to me.
This is all well and good, but the endless streams of reading tends to stack up against my own insecurities. I cant help thinking while I'm reading that there is no way that my writing will ever be to the same standard as those books.
I will catch myself thinking, "Wow! That was such a wonderful plot, no wonder everyone loves this story" and "gosh, I love the imagery this author uses", whilst knowing that my stories would probably bore anyone but me, and that I'll never be able to write something profound enough that people will stick the quote on hipster posts on Tumblr.
But I'd be a fool if I thought this was just my insecurity. I'm sure every best selling author has been where I am right now. And probably even after they've made it think: "Why the heck is my book up there next to book X and Y when they're so much better than mine!"
If this is one of your insecurities, how do you cope with it? Or is it just something you have to learn to ignore?
Sarah x
Hi, I'm Britta! This is such an awesome post, Sarah. I found you via your Sleepy Hollow blog, and I love following other writers! This post is spot on. I spent my undergrad and post grad experience studying Creative Writing, all in hopes that by the end, I would have more confidence in my writing. The newsflash is it totally didn't, and I realize that writing is like tackling every other crazy beautiful experience out there: always a risk. That irritates me so much, especially as I read beautiful books and think, just as you have, that I'll never measure up. I love love love reading as well, but here lately it has definitely become a glaring fact that sometimes I read so that I don't have to face whatever delusional disappointment I expect when I write.
ReplyDeleteAll of these negative bits aside, keep on! Because every classic writer, it seems, who are heralded for their genius, were once spurned by their generation.
Happy Writing,
Britta