Do you honestly like your work?

Right now I somewhat like the story that I'm slowly working on, I'm just very scared of it.

However, before the whole phobia thing started, I loved everything I wrote, unless it was fanfiction. For some reason I hated every fanfic I ever wrote.

I just hate how I can't come up with some brand new original idea that no one has come up with before. -__-x

 

I like my work when I write it. Then I write something else and look back at previous work and I'm like, waa was I high when I wrote this?

 

Honestly, I'm never completely satisfied with whatever I write. Usually, I start kicking myself over "why did I write this?", "what the heck is wrong with me?", and "this can't be my writing" when I read over my work. The strange thing is that once I finish writing something, I end up forgetting exactly what I wrote, so when I reread it it's kind of from a regular reader's perspective, which makes me end up finding more ways to improve my writing. I'm not sure if that makes much sense...

 

I like what I write because it is honest. If it were dishonest, no matter how clever or well-written, I wouldn't feel the same.

It's the same with playing music. I'm not a performer and I don't write to entertain. I do it to put human moments into simple words and short paragraphs so that someday I will read it and remember. If somebody else reads it, I hope that I've successfully conveyed the power of any feelings I'm tackling.

So I guess I would say yes. I don't write to write; rather, I write to relieve myself of an emotional burden.

 

I can't say I hate my work, however I always think it could have been better

 

I write what I'd like to read, so on some level I like my stories. But I always try and keep myself critical of them- if I liked everything I wrote, I'd write unmarketable crap. I believe there's a phrase along the lines of 'living in a vacuum' to that extent.

 

No .

 

I very much dislike words. Words cannot adequately express a thought or emotion, and so it is an impossibility to correctly communicate to the reader what the author is thinking and feeling. But!, the inability to communicate with a fullness becomes as a challenge for me to arrange words in a manner that the reader can best grasp a concept of my thoughts and feelings. I am pleased with my writing when the reader comprehends my intentions, and I am displeased with my writing when my skill is insufficient to convey my intended thoughts.

Over all, I am highly self-critical of my work, and I will always find room for improvement in everything I write. My scale for liking or disliking my writing is if I can write something and then give it to the public without my being overly embarrassed.

 

Overall I like my work while I'm writing it. Somehow whenever I see it published I always find something that makes me think, "Ugghh, what the hell was I thinking."

 

I have to love what I'm writing, or else I just can't write it. If I'm not really feeling it, nothing comes to me. Not even garbage. So if I didn't like my writing, it wouldn't even exist.

 

Do you ever feel disheartened about what you are writing? Do you ever feel that there is nobody out there that could ever possibly enjoy reading what you write, I know it is stupid to think that but I do from time to time.

I know that if it's something that interests the writer (me) that there is always somebody out there that thinks the same and that will enjoy my writings but there are times when I look at what I have written and I think to myself "who the heck would want to read this". I enjoy writing immensely and I enjoy reading what I have written but every now and then it seems pointless to me, I know it's not pointless and I will continue to write but my mind does tend to wander to these kind of thoughts.

Does anybody else have similar moments? and if so, how do you deal with them?

Thanks for listening.

 

In a sense, I know how you are feeling. I get the same way from time to time--I'm manic depressive. I'll start writing something and get excited, then a few hours to a few days later I'll reread my work and hate it, thinking nobody else will really want to read it. And the people in reality I do let read it, it seems their words are empty. Like, "Wow, I like this." Gee, thanks? I know it's not perfect, nobody's work is perfect, and by saying that they liked it in such a way is like telling me they wouldn't want to read all the way through the book.

I think everybody gets this way every once in a while. It's the fact of being a writer. Your story can't please everyone, and there's no way around that fact. I just go and listen to some music or start to read something. Maybe go to Borders and get me a hot chocolate. There's nothing else to do for me.

 

Yes, I feel that way many times, but it is just a part of the human condition. Wheever you start something new you are excited as the "newness" wanes so does the excitement until you feel exactly as you are describing. The cure? Redoubt your efforts and determination will replace your current emotions.

 

i just figure if it's worth my time to write, it will be worth someone else's to read...

 

I have them a lot when my short stories get rejected. Then I have to go back to duotrope and find a new market for them. Sometime through I realize how many markets there really are, and that makes me feel better.

Also, I think it was rule 34 of the internet; if you can think of it, it's somebody's fetish. So surely if you can write it, someone wants to read it...for whatever reason.

 

Yeah, I'm very cautious of my writing, I rarely post any songs I write, and since I've been writing I've probably tossed aside 100 different ideas or changed them in some way, it took me too years of editing, changing, and tweaking before I even started my(from what I've been told) best manga.

 

Lol, I definitely feel that way. Many if not everybody does.

I'm not a consistent writer so my list of written works is pretty short. So far, all of my stories are incomplete. I do get discouraged but I've realized that I should write regardless. Writing should not be fueled by popularity. There are millions of classics that were definitely controversial at one time and looked down upon. If those authors wrote to please, those fantastic stories wouldn't have been published.

BUT I agree with you, there is always going to be an audience out there that would be interested. Everyone has an opinion, so there will be those that hate your work and then, those that love your work.
I also believe that motivation and drive should start with yourself and end with yourself. If you love to write then write. Relying too much on other's opinions can be destructive to your ego and your confidence as a writer.

So I try not to worry about that too much. I should just pick myself back up and take the time to enjoy the writing process (along with improving).

 

I feel the same way sometimes.

Novelty can wear off of almost anything, including works of writing. But I just write what I would like to read, knowing that someone out there would definately enjoy it too. Since we're all entitled to our own opinions, not everyone will like a certain piece of writing. It's just the way it is. I'd try to just keep going and know that at least someone will like it

 

yep been there and visit it frequently. What I do usually is come on here or look up authors websites and get some motivation from there. I find reading about how authors got their break gives me hope in a way.

I tend to believe anyone can achieve anything they want it and work hard at it. I usually search the forums for positive posts like 'don't give up', and advice on how to get motivated. Works for me.

Also, I print out the excerpts I post on writing forums and make bullet points of critiques I get - good and bad. The purpose being that by seeing the former, I get a little ego boost by seeing someone enjoyed what I had written. With the latter I get some constructive criticism that helps me to make it better.

 

He-he, yeah been there too. There now, get to a really good part in the story, and you think 'Whats the point, brother? Ill write it, then either throw it out or throw it on the web...and no one will read it...'. Hate it terribly, always happens on a good part of the story, or the boring part that leads up to the good parts. You want to write it, but your hands sit on your belly and refuse like children.

I go and watch tv, or just leave it for a while {Being maybe days...}

 

LOL yep I feel that way some times, I'll get really excited about a plot and figure it all out then the next day, be like "yuck! no way am I going through with this!" but I think that's just a part of writing.

I will either change it if I hate it that much but uasually I'll just leave it and come back to write on it later when I'm more in the mood, that way I'm not changing the story five million times!!

 

Sometimes I quit on my novel for weeks at a time and go on to short stories or poems. I always come back though. The thing that helps me out a lot is I've been doing this for like ten years now. Every short story or random bit of information I write ends up as a piece of the history for the world my novel takes place in. So I have all these composition books full of maps and histories and explanations. It'll all work out in the end.

 

One of the best advice I've ever receieved on writing was that you have to write for yourself and not for others. What others think is secondary and what's more important is, do you like it? I think writing for yourself is extremely important and if you think it's perfect..then there is no reason for you to be unhappy. Of course, this is all in theory and at times I do fall into the trap of worrying about whether others will like it or not but..you just have to snap out of it and be determined.

Don't be so low on yourself. Also, I don't know about you but I'm embarassed to let others read what I'm writing because I tend to write a lot of fantasy and I'm afraid they'll think it's..dumb but...you just have to tell yourself that it's all about you, you are the creator

Hope this helped.

 

now that's a labour of love! Its so much better reading books that have some thought put into them rather than just being written for the £££££

sorry that was slightly off topic

 

Write what you want to write. My characters have grown used to me as a constant flitting presence, working on one story one day, another for the next week, only to come back to the first weeping at its beauty. They know I plan to finish all of their stories eventually. And when I do short stories for a change, they applaud that to, because then I can submit to ezines and have a hope for gaining writing credits. Whatever I do, I know I'll learn something from it, so I don't guilt myself if I can't concentrate on one story.

On the other hand, I hate it when I think of a really good idea in the middle of a shift at work, and I have to spend the next 2 hours trying to say excited about it so I can acutally write when I get home...it rarely works. I hate it when that happens.