I was just wondering about everyone else here; overall, do others seem to have faith that you'll go far with your writing, or does everybody not seem to care about your hobby? Or do they think it's worthless?

Actually, they do. I've never really thought about it, but all my friends and extended family members are very supportive. They often ask me what I've written. I tell them plot ideas and let them read my words. Sometimes they read my stories without me knowing it etc.

Funny that I've never really realised how supportive they are. Thank you for the question. :) It made me see how lucky I am.

Maybe my greatest critic and supporter is my husband. He knows what good literature is, and I can't really ever meet his standards, but he's always very supportive. Maybe it's because of him that I always think that critique is good for me. ^_^

And today, I talked with my dear artist friend about reviews and critique. It was wonderful to share experiences. She paints; I write. She knows words; I know art as well. ^_^ It's nice.

Ha ha. You're very lucky. :P

My mom was initially the one to get me into writing...my first story ever was a story about a cat-and-mouse that chased each other around, nad my kindergarden teacher loved it, and my mom kinda encouraged it. I kind of started doing more in like second grade and stuff, but you know, I kind of keep my writing much more secretive from my family. The friends who know about it kind of seem to not care. Actually, nobody seemd to have much faith in me...that's why I was curious. :P

Its funny, I have no support really from my family but any most people that read my stories have really liked them and wonder wether or not I am published

Why doesn't your family support you?

My friends do, but my family not so much. Actually, a lot of my support comes from my english teachers at school.

I don't think anybody even knows that I write yet. I haven't been doing it that long and I generally don't show my stuff to somebody untill it's done.

Yeah, my family (except for my sister, who also has no faith in me) really doesn't know that I write...

I fiercely hide...protect...my writing from every member of my family. They don't see my writing, unless I choose to show it to them.

as far as me my family is to practical. I find it sad really. but my parents had to be that way coming up. So for them they want me to be practical which i am but I really love to write. I love to show off my stuff but they do not take the time to read it but perfect strangers do.

my biggest fan is Domoviye. He thinks I am good enough to come here and let more people read and critique my silly little stories.
My husband is my second biggest fan. But he is married to me so he has to be. Or I won't cook for him. LOL.
My grandson likes what I write since I make it a personal story.
He is also a story teller and a poet. Has won a couple of contests with his poems.
So all in all I get the support I need from those nearest and dearest to me.
As for siblings and parents they could care less.
out of sight out of mind.

It is a mixed bag for me. Most folks, family, friends and co-workers are supportive and wonder what's taking so long to get my novels published (those that don't know much about the publishing industry). They occasionally see one of my short stories published and I guess that lends some credibility to my moving forward.

However, in the end, it is the writer himself that must have faith in his ability to produce quality work. Does it help having someone 'cheer' you on? For me, some. But it's more about me writing and improving and getting my work published--out there for others to read.

Terry

The only time I've ever shown anyone I know personally my work was last year.
let my Mom read a prologue from a novel I had started. She was extremely supportive and said she loved it, but she's my Mom you know, what else is she going to say. She asks to read more all the time, but I"m still a bit shy about it.
My husband is supportive, although he has never read any of my stuff. If it's not cowboys and Indians, ala Louis Lamour he isn't too interested. But he leaves me alone when I'm writing and doesn't nag me about the dishes piling up in the sink. If only he'd tell me to quit my boring job so I could write all day and night, but you know, I think if he could, he would, if we could live without my salary.

I personally think that people in this forum genuinely do care and that they in their own way write a reply to show how supportive they are of the members and their work. Some people, I noticed, when giving an opinion may come across as arrogant or very negative.

However, I do not think it is intentional. As they are only trying to 'voice' their opinions in what they consider (my opinion) is constructive criticism :cool:

I'm so fortunate to have a supportive family and a close, tightly knit circle of friends that offer wonderful pieces of advice and have, are, and will always be my biggest fans.

I'm lucky enough to have three great friends that are bigger readers than I am, so naturally they're very interested in what I write. And I know I can always rely on at least one of them to give completely honest advice wherever she thinks it's needed. Unlike my family, and that's only because nobody in my family has seen any of my writing in a long time. And I also had an English teacher that was enthusiastic about what I was wriiting at the time, but that guy was overly friendly; he probably would've been buddies with Hitler if he (Hitler) had simply been a fan of Karen Carpenter (the teacher's favorite singer).

I haven't show anyone what I've written. :rolleyes:

The most important person to have faith in my writing is me. And I do.


I leave my writing crap all over anyplace I spend significant time; but heaven help you if you try to read it. This includes friends, relatives, family members. They all sort of think it is cute, but they lack real interest; passive support, I guess you could call it. Doesn't bother me.

I don't know.

I have a really hard time sharing my writing with anyone other than one friend, who is also a writer. We email back and forth, give each other constructive criticism, etc. Writing is something that is incredibly personal to me, and sharing it with others is something that is still really hard for me to do.

So to answer your question, I know I have faith in my writing. And my friend does. But we're the only two that will probably ever get to read it.

The only person that knows I write is my sister, but I haven't let anyone read my work yet. My friends aren't really the "artistic" type, and they would more than likely find it hilarious that I write. So for now, it stays a secret.

Hmmm... That's nerve racking. X_X

But I'm sure that my family would support me, would, because they don't know much of my writing. But I have a couple of people that has faith in it.. So yeah. X_X

I have faith in my ability to learn from my mistakes. As for others - no one really seems to care too much.

I'm still learning to write though, so I haven't really shown anyone I know anything. It would be like me trying to become a painter and showing a Crayola doodle to someone I love. They would believe that I was expecting them to support me. Thats just cruel.
Once I have a handle on this thing... then will be the time to show and tell.

I get lots of people saying, "You should try getting published!"--but these are the same people who lose interest in reading anything of mine after like one chapter, so it's kind of hard to take that seriously. I mean, honestly--WHY do you think I should try getting published when you yourself can't even stay interested in my work for more than ten minutes??

Aside from that, there's the VERY rare comment from people who enjoy what I do, but I generally don't hear from them a second time, so for all I know they too lose interest immediately. *sigh*

And aside from that, nobody really seems to care. :( My family thinks writing is only of any use if you're making money off of it by getting published, and since I'm not doing that, it's not important. That really hurts; even if they aren't interested they could at least be encouraging. And seeing as most people on writing forums and websites seem focused primarily on getting published, it makes me think my own work has no real meaning.

So for the most part, I'd say people, when they speak up, say my writing is good, but they don't have much faith in it for the primary reason that they don't really care to read it in the first place.

I was just wondering about everyone else here; overall, do others seem to have faith that you'll go far with your writing, or does everybody not seem to care about your hobby? Or do they think it's worthless?

A lot more than I do, unfortunately. :confused:

Once in a blue moon, I'll look at something I have written and think 'hey...that's not too bad'. That lasts for a moment or two and then is replaced by non-verbal expressions of dismay. lol.

I do, however, have faith that one day, I'll write something that I can be proud of long enough to attempt publication.

:)

And aside from that, nobody really seems to care. :( My family thinks writing is only of any use if you're making money off of it by getting published, and since I'm not doing that, it's not important. That really hurts; even if they aren't interested they could at least be encouraging. And seeing as most people on writing forums and websites seem focused primarily on getting published, it makes me think my own work has no real meaning.



Oh my god. I totally understand that. My mom used to be really supportive of whatever I wanted to do when I was younger, but lately, it seems all she really wants me to do is do something that makes good money. Like she says that if I wanted to do something like journalism with no real money involved, it'd be okay. But I don't know. I think that since she's married my stepdad, who makes more money compared to my dad...yeah. I don't know.

The only person who shows any degree of faith in my writing is my grandfather. He occasionally reads things I write, but never comments on them. However, if I need money to ship manuscripts, he's the first one to open his wallet. If I need someone to rant about my writing to, my grandfather sits and listens patiently, occasionally interjecting with his comments. If that doesn't show some degree of faith, I don't know what does.

My mother used to show a great deal of support for my writing, too. After I grew older, though, and my getting published wouldn't be something she could brag about, she stopped caring. I tell her I'm "thisclose" to being ready for publication and she just shrugs. It makes me sad.

Do people have faith in my writing? Depends on what people you mean. Loved ones and family don't exactly count. (Does anyone's mom not have faith in whatever they do?) Lol. Some days I have faith in my writing. Some days I don't. At the end of the day, though, it's my faith and not anyone else's, that keeps me going.

Traditionally I come from a very math and science-oriented family. My grandfather was a petroleum engineer, my dad is a property accountant, and my sister is currently one of the only women studying engineering at Texas A&M. So I'm sure I'll be the black sheep of the family career-wise someday, but that doesn't trouble me duly. Quite frankly, accounting's not for me. I'll either publish a book or ship off to the world's conflict zones as a print journalist. Much more interesting than cubicle work if you ask me.

That's not to say my family isn't supporting, by the way. I'm just destroying a long legacy of math-lovers (But I'm in good company! I'll be doing it along with my cousin, a Norwegian artist!)

(Does anyone's mom not have faith in whatever they do?)

Hmm, well my mom believes writing will get me nowhere...when she sees me writing she asks why I can't spend my evenings or day doing something productive instead..my dad, when he sees me writing says I should get out and get a real life because writing is a hobby and is not really worth the time when I can be out in the world meeting new people

Let's just say they don't have too much faith in me.

But my sister does. I always share my ideas with her but I rarely get her to read my stuff. She writes as well and truthfully she's been my inspiration since I was young so when I have her read my stuff I feel like it's not good enough because I am comparing it to her writing and I'm not yet comfortable with that.

But my best friend gets to read my stuff. She gets to read my rough drafts..and then re-read my rough drafts after I change things..maybe even a few times, and she's my support she has the faith in me..and she pushes me more than anyone to finish some of the stories that I got her to read.

My family supports me writing, but I haven't shown them my writing yet. I showed my brother, and he likes it (although he's 12, so that's not really saying much). My friends don't really like to read much, so they don't really care about it anyways.

I'm not sure if my parents would have faith in my writing, because I make a point of never letting them see it. I know they support me writing, but I don't know if they'd actually like what I write.
I do show it to other people, though- internet friends and real friends- and they all seem to like it very much. But the place where I get the most support from, without a doubt, is from my totally awesome seventh grade English teacher. We still hang out, and he reads my stuff and genuinely likes it. And he's the kind of guy who doesn't lie about that (although he's too frickin' nice to actually give a helpful critique).

I was just wondering about everyone else here; overall, do others seem to have faith that you'll go far with your writing, or does everybody not seem to care about your hobby? Or do they think it's worthless?
Honestly, nobody really knows I write actually. I don't like telling people 'cos then they'll expect me to be good and when I'm not they'll just think I'm being daft and yea, I just don't bother really.

Yes and no.

I have support. People encourage me. They tell me it's good I write; they say it's in me; they tell me not to stop (I'm thinking of family here), but when it comes to actually looking into what I do and really saying I'm any good...nah.

I feel disappointed because I think it's lame to say, "I like to write" and that's all there is to it. I mean, sure. Anybody can type words into any kind of text box. How supporting is it really to say, "Good for you!" and to buy me a journal for my birthday? How meaningful is it really?

I get a mixed feeling from my mom when it comes to her support. She always seems to have a rain cloud of negativity over her head. This set on being realistic, knowing that I'm one of millions of talents out there and that I'm the girl who's struggling in English class, and I'm that child who was one of the last to learn to spell my name out in kindergarten. She's supportive, and she says the things I'm doing is really good, and sometimes I can sense pride from her. But at most times, I feel lack of support. Like I feel she's glad that I do these things, and she encourages me to keep at it and keep at it, but I don't really hear if I'm any good. She uses "good writer" with my name, as if it's a fact, but, I don't know... I just don't feel like she really has faith in me. It bugs me that she always downs anything I'm ever going to do. Like I'm going to have to struggle, carry a heavy ball and chain, in order to keep up with the norm. What I'm saying is... I get the vibe she thinks I'm a good writer. She thinks I'm good, and she encourages me to keep at it. But I'm only good for who I am. I'm good for me. But I'm not GOOD, good. Just like, for being that girl who couldn't even get past the first two letters in my name in kindergarten, I've come a long way.

They do, which bugs me. I want someone to tell me I am bad, which will make me realize the guys who have faith in me are useful and truthful. Okies, saying: 'You stink big time, never read such awful stuff' is just not my idea of constructive critique, so yeah, I want someone to tell me what to do rather than what I've done. Same goes for messing up in chores, but that's not the point here. :p

My mother is always like 'my daughter is a genius', ' she knows how to write like a scholar' etc which irritates me. I don't want to be a family prodigy in name, I want to prove it. But no one really can help, so yeah. :D But my friends often evaluate my plot lines and story structure, as well as my favorite sister. Though they can't improve my language skills, I can really brush up the loop holes thanks to them. But yeah, my friend once said and it still pumps me to write (she's a book addict): "You just need to shape up your ideas towards the realistic side a little bit more, and you'll be an ace writer no problem." It really encouraged me to continue writing.

I guess I'm lucky in that I have a good friend who writes a lot and several other friends who at least dabble some. My family (when I lived with them) always supported and encouraged me, and my hubby now cheers me on. That's a big help.

In order of importance:

1. I have faith in my writing, and in my work ethic -- which is what makes the writing pay.
2. My husband has faith in my writing.
3. My agent has faith in my writing.

Works for me.