Do you share your writing?
Putting yourself out there isn’t easy. When you share your writing, you open it up to criticism. What if people don’t like it? What if it gets negative reviews? What if nobody reads it?
I share my writing all the time, thanks to this blog. In the early days, shortly after I launched Writing Forward, I would sometimes wake up in a panic the day after I’d published a new post. Had I said something stupid? Misspelled a word? Misplaced a comma? A few times, my fears were realized. I’ve published posts with typos in them, and I once spelled a famous author’s name wrong — in a title. Needless to say, I felt like an idiot.
But I kept going. I fixed that typo, and I moved on.
Here’s the thing: you’re going to make mistakes. Sometimes, a piece of writing that you thought was brilliant will turn out to be a dud. Other times, a piece you thought was dull will catch fire and go viral. Some people will like what you’ve written, but there will be others who don’t like it or don’t care to read it. You never know how people are going to respond until you share your writing.
Sharing Your Writing
I’m of the belief that not every piece of writing should be shared. Some of your projects won’t turn out the way you had hoped. There’s no reason to force a piece of writing to publication if it’s not ready or if it’s not up to your usual standards. Sometimes we write for personal reasons, and we create material that’s never meant to be shared.
However, there’s a difference between holding on to a piece of writing because it’s not polished or because you created it for your eyes only and holding on to a piece of writing because you’re nervous about how people will respond.
“It has never been easy for me to understand why people work so hard to create something beautiful, but then refuse to share it with anyone, for fear of criticism.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert
Some of us refuse to share our work because we’re hard on ourselves: nothing we do is good enough. Some of us are perfectionists — we’ll spend years revising and editing but never quite living up to our own high expectations. Some lack confidence, believing nobody cares what they have to say. Some are simply afraid of failure; the possibility of negative reviews or low sales is enough to prevent them from sharing their writing.
The lucky among us never struggle with these thoughts. They gladly put their work out there for all the world to see. But everyone else needs to learn how to to put egos aside, accept the risks, and take the plunge.
It starts with acceptance. You need to accept that most people will have no interest in what you’ve written. This can include your own friends and family members. I write books on the craft of writing, and guess what? Most of my friends and family are not writers. They don’t read my books.
And some people won’t like what you’ve written. Some of them will leave negative reviews. If you publish enough of your writing, this is bound to happen, but it shouldn’t stop you. Maybe they’re not your target audience. Maybe they were having a bad day and nothing would have pleased them. Maybe your writing is not to their taste. Maybe your writing needs a little work, in which case, make good use of the criticism and use it to improve your craft.
We all have to learn to take the bad with the good.
If you don’t share your writing, you’ll never find the readers who will hang on to your every word, who will leave glowing reviews and tell their friends about your work.
A Worthwhile Risk
As a writer, sometimes you’re going to have to take risks and put yourself out there, even when you’re scared. And if you blow it, if it blows up in your face, you pick up the pieces, get back to writing, and then put it out there again. And again. And again.
So keep writing, and then go forth and share your work.
Quote Source: Thoughts on Writing [www.elizabethgilbert.com]
Wise words – for those who can hear them. I find the enrire process of writing so incredibly difficult and draining that I can bearly look at my own work on the few occasions I am actually able to achieve anything.
The thought that others are waiting, like ravening wolves, to destroy my hard-wrung efforts is one that truly fills me with fear; as I have siad before, some of us are just not equipped to be writers. Trying to open doors this way sounds extremely dangerous to me.
As always, my very best wishes to all who are able to put words together and make something beautiful enough to want to share it; I don’t have that amount of courage.
Opsimath, you come here quite regularly to say that you don’t have what it takes to be a writer, but you obviously have a deep passion for writing. There’s no rule that says you have to publish what you write or put it in front of other people. You can write privately or practice your writing until you feel comfortable sharing it with people. You’re not the only writer who finds the process difficult and draining, and you’re not the only writer who is fearful of what others might think of your work. These are hurdles you can overcome if you set your mind to it.
Absolutely – I think sometimes we’re all too conscious that anything except the most glowing feedback can be draining, afraid that afterwards we’ll be robbed of all creativity for ever…
Glowing feedback feels good, and when warranted, it’s a sweet reward for our hard work. On the other hand, it doesn’t push us forward or help us improve our work. The feedback that pinpoints problems in our writing and the failures we encounter in our writing journeys make us better writers and stronger people. So there is a benefit to be found in any kind of feedback. The trick is to understand that we are not perfect and accept that our work will be flawed. If we go into it with that understanding, even the harshest feedback won’t sting so bad and will instead strengthen us and our work.
There’s an old saying that if you don’t make mistakes you won’t make anything. I think that more or less sums it up since you don’t learn if you aren’t prepared to take risks.
It’s so true!
Thanks for the post.
It’s always a great pleasure for me to enjoy reading books, I believe it’s a kind a magic how authors put words together to express feelings or thoughts. It’s beyond intelligence, it’s magical.
However, when it comes to writing, I don’t feel that kind of magic inside me. This year, I started writing something, may be a non fiction book, I’m not enjoying the experience for now, but I keep writing.
What do you do when you don’t feel like writing? How do you overcome it?
Hi Rachid. Thanks for your question. It’s not unusual for people to write even when they don’t enjoy it. Sometimes there’s a driving force, other than writing, that propels someone to write. For example, someone might feel that they have an important story to share with the world. They might not enjoy writing, but they write the story anyway.
I usually find that if I don’t feel like writing but I force myself to sit down and get started, I’ll eventually start enjoying it. I would say it takes five or ten minutes, maybe less. I’m not sure why there’s often a resistance, but showing up is the hardest part for many people. Good luck to you.
Melissa Donovan,
Thank you for your blog.
Your posts are the antithetical of the support and encouragement received during my formative birth through high school graduation years. I was an avid reader and wanted to tell the fascinating types of stories I was reading. I made the mistake of sharing my interest and became what felt like, “The Annual Exhibition Of The Worst Student To Ever Attend Class.” The End of the horrible History years.
The Fiftieth Anniversary of my departure from high school is this year. And while there are lingering memories, I have started blogging. Nonfiction. While I have a dream about writing a series of Science Fiction stories, my nonfiction subject has incarcerated my mind. As of this morning, I am calling it “Nonfiction Horror.” If my subject was about murder and mayhem it would be palatable, but it is not. In 2007 I unwittingly discovered how to translate Standardize Test scores to a scale the public understands. In the years since my discovery I have gone through all the stages of grief and denial.
Your blog keeps reminding me there is light at the end of the tunnel as I struggle to write. And I cannot thank you enough.
You’re welcome. I’m glad you’ve found Writing Forward to be helpful and supportive. Keep writing!
Before I began blogging, I had to give myself permission to write, which is why I took several writing classes. The last class I took was on blogging. I moved away from where I was taking classes but kept my blog going. I’ve met a great community along the way and comparatively few trolls.
Blogging is so much fun. I don’t get to do it as much as I’d like. I have to agree–I don’t see very many trolls in the writing community online. And it’s definitely a great community.
I needed that reminder. Seconds ago, I scheduled my Monday morning blog post about book banning. I’ve scheduled it, edited it, and rescheduled and edited it four times. I’ll find out tomorrow if I stepped on any toes. Part of me hopes I did! LOL!
Book banning makes me see red, and it’s been on my mind recently (for obvious reasons). Imagine the audacity of telling other people what they can and can’t read! Some toes need to be stepped on! I just made a note to check for your post when it publishes.
It’s an awkward thing accepting the criticism, but you just have to. I have had many years to come to terms with it. My first published novel came out over thirty years ago. Some loved it and I basked in the praise, but others did not like it at all.
It upset me.
It took me a while until I remembered the obvious.
I have not enjoyed every novel I have read and of those that entertained, some were better than others. Moreover, what I may enjoy another may not.
It is just a matter of taste.
So, not everyone likes my books. Not everyone likes Shakespeare or Dickens (not that I am comparing myself to such luminaries) but there are always good reviews as well. Some people like my books. That is good enough for me.
That’s well-said, Raymond. It’s also useful to distinguish between constructive criticism and criticism that’s based on personal taste. I always embrace constructive criticism, because I feel like I can use to to revise and improve my work.