Anonymous d8ed654f4d446a2dc8e63199625e12e6 started this discussion 3 months (2008-08-29 15:26:10 UTC) ago:
Are there any writers here? How do you deal with feelings of inadequacy about your writing? Whenever I write something of supposed substance, I feel it is horrible and should never be shown to the public.
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Anonymous 8e2c9582a8fbfcdfaa4519ba6ad9a788 replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 15:39:42 UTC) ago, 14 minutes later (#55,499):
I am a writer/student. I am a shy person by nature, so before showing anything to a printer (I publish my own poems, wwritings, etc., and hand them out free of charge) I show it to a few friends and have them tell me their thoughts. The people you show your work to should be intelligent and able to appreciate your work whether it is fantasy/philosophy/fiction/biography and indeed anything else.
Anonymous b4cdea4a13e437d507d674380c32f798 replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 15:58:28 UTC) ago, 19 minutes later (#55,502):
I think all good writers go through the same thing. If you were ever extremely proud of your writing, then there's probably something wrong with it.
Anonymous 97ef3e3bf351c00e91071b7ffd28cafd replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 17:19:09 UTC) ago, 1 hour later (#55,522):
Eh, I write pornographic fanfiction.
I do have a desire to write something serious, and one day I will. But trust me, feeling that your work is bad is natural.
Anonymous d8ed654f4d446a2dc8e63199625e12e6 (OP) replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 17:41:17 UTC) ago, 22 minutes later (#55,526):
So, I suppose that if I feel horrible about my writing every now and then, I must be on the right track. I know my writing isn't horse-shit bad, but I don't feel that it is particularly earth-shattering, either. Hemingway, Kierkegaard, and others edited their works immensely, which is something I guess I'll just need to become accustomed to. (Disclaimer: I myself am writing philosophy.)
Anonymous 1af9cbf0ea9a8d7990404a168928f0a2 replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 18:09:52 UTC) ago, 29 minutes later (#55,534):
Try to get over worrying about what other people think. If you really think your writing is boring / not great, then it won't hurt if people are like "Oh, hmm, that was an ok read I guess." If you secretly think your work may be brilliant - that'd make anyone afraid to show it.
Virtually everything in life is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants release. Directors are never completely done with their movies, entrepreneurs are never totally set on their business when they launch, you can't wait for your stuff to be perfect - just release frequently! If you're stuff isn't horse-shit, nobody will remember it or associate you with lame writing - and if you write a lot, you'll get until you're writing good stuff!
Most people can't wait and incubate and suddenly come out of nowhere with a brilliant work - you need to just throw yourself out there.
Anonymous d8ed654f4d446a2dc8e63199625e12e6 (OP) replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 18:17:20 UTC) ago, 7 minutes later (#55,535):
I remember William F. Buckley, Jr. — in an interview with Charlie Rose, he said that he'd been asked to write a new preface to his book "God and Man at Yale" on its 25th anniversary. He said that he opened the book and nearly fainted, because he felt it was so awful. Buckley was amazing prolific, he wrote over 50 books and had thousands of articles here and there. I guess even the "best" writers have their doubts about themselves. Am I right in saying I should just get over those feelings and just write, or should I embrace these feelings?
Anonymous f298ff4b449fa3ddcd1748d1535a71a3 replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 19:56:20 UTC) ago, 2 hours later (#55,562):
You should do both. Use those feelings as catalyst to improve your work and disregard them when the work is "finished." By finished I do not mean perfect, that's impossible. I also do not merely mean completed, think more along the lines of polished. The question you should be asking yourself is "How can I know when to do which?"
Anonymous 3938cd6346c64db864dbebc780bfbc5f replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 20:53:00 UTC) ago, 57 minutes later (#55,573):
@55,522Would you be willing to link to or post a piece of your writing?
I too like to write … questionable stories, perhaps I could give you some feedback?
Anonymous 7cdf7163bfcd727ca6cf70c63e0d5f94 replied with this 3 months (2008-08-29 23:38:36 UTC) ago, 3 hours later (#55,607):
@55,562Yeah, exactly.
I don't really know much about writing, but I'm an art student. Whenever I'm asked if I finished my homework or whatever, I like to respond with "well, I'm done in the sense that I'm not going to
work on it anymore, but it's not
complete…" For instance, if I'm working on a piece and I'm halfway done or so when I notice a compositional error (which generally requires redoing the piece entirely), I'll just overlook it and plow through the rest of the piece. You're not obligated to make everything perfect—just knowing what error(s) you've made and learning from them is plenty. You'll meet deadlines much more easily and probably maximize your learning, as well, since you'll spend your time exploring new things rather than correcting old errors.
I'm not sure how much this will apply to you as a writer, but hey, that's my two cents.
Anonymous 3d17e2b187fb22c41af7007f7b70d31f replied with this 3 months (2008-08-30 21:50:51 UTC) ago, 22 hours later (#55,842):
The only way you can possibly hone your writing skill is to have it critiqued by other people. With ever critique, you get better and better. I can count the number of times I've been critiqued on two hands and it has done wonders. Because you are shy about your work, then you're more inclined to take other people's advice, which is good. Sometimes, I resent others for criticizing some of my favorite parts, but if it's broke, then it needs fixing. Also, read. Find writers that you like and study their style. You don't necessarily have to imitate them, but try finding what elements you think are good and incorporating them into your work.
Anonymous d8ed654f4d446a2dc8e63199625e12e6 (OP) replied with this 3 months (2008-08-31 03:12:12 UTC) ago, 5 hours later (#55,925):
@55,842I'm interested in learning to write more elegantly. Nietzsche and Shopenhauer have great styles, in my opinion. What I am going to do, and I may have mentioned this above — is write, then toss the stuff in a drawer for a month, then go back to it and revise the stuff.
Also: I wish I could fine mimeographed copies of Nietzsche's manuscripts. Something tells me he never edited any of his books. For instance, he wrote his autobiography in 3 weeks, and huge parts of Thus Spake Zarathustra in 10 days.
Anonymous 8e2c9582a8fbfcdfaa4519ba6ad9a788 replied with this 3 months (2008-08-31 14:04:36 UTC) ago, 11 hours later (#56,017):
He was classically educated, and so naturally elagan in his speech and writing. THe benefits of a classical education seem to have indeed been overlooked by the pig americans, and many pig capitalists.
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