The Downside of Editing and Revising

By teacherayala · Apr 23, 2011 · 731 · 6
  1. Well, I guess I set myself up for this. I was just so happy to be writing again, and so happy to be figuring out the revision process that I think I was just a little too enthusiastic. I didn't anticipate the negative feelings that ultimately happen when you get a good (and honest!) critique.

    It's all good. It's all ok. I'll have more vacations, and more opportunities to write. Somehow I'll find a way to rework this story that has given me computer neck and occupied my thoughts and even caused me to wake up in the middle of the night with a new idea or a new scenario.

    So even though I'm feeling now like the world's worst writer, I'll pick up the pieces and get it together. It's part of the growing pains of learning to write well, and write something worth publishing, and if I don't develop a tough skin, I'll never succeed.

    I just wish it didn't hurt so much, or that I wasn't battling these feelings that all I'm doing is wasting my time, that I should just stick to what I already know, that I'll never amount to anything except being a mom and holding a steady job. How do you fight off these demons that whisper in your ear?

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  1. Jayyy1014
    Well, You shouldn't exactly feel like the world's worst writer, because you aren't. You should be feeling something in terms of " My work is good but I'm going to make it better" :) Never think negative just always think positive.. More people Succeed with a positive attitude towards their work than a negative :) Don't feel so bad, Im sure it's great! :)
    Jayyy1014, Apr 23, 2011
  2. teacherayala
    Thanks. That's sweet of you to say. Trying very hard to look on the bright side of things.
    teacherayala, Apr 23, 2011
  3. Jayyy1014
    No problem, I've been in similar situations. I discovered my passion for writing When I was 7. I was still very young. I had written some really good poems (for a 7 year old) And one day I'd written a horrible poem. My friends were laughing at it and making fun of my writing, causing me to get upset and hurt which led me to stop writing. I finally picked writing back up, I'll be 15 soon. I never take criticism to heart now, I always realize " okay They're being nice and trying to help me, So I need to listen and Try to fix my mistakes." Just keep being positive I promise It gets better in time.
    Jayyy1014, Apr 23, 2011
  4. Cogito
    You can't take it personally. If you don't have lessons to learn, you're going nowhere. As long as you have well defined obstacles, you have a plan of attack and an avenue for growth.

    Hang in there!
    Cogito, Apr 23, 2011
  5. Jayyy1014
    ^^ exactly I agree with Cogito 100 %
    Jayyy1014, Apr 23, 2011
  6. teacherayala
    Thanks, friends. People always say "write what you know," but most of the time I find my life rather boring and wish to escape it for a while. The problem is that I usually have trouble navigating the "realistic" waters of my new worlds in that I don't know the rules for professions that I have never been in. In this case, it's an intern at a campaign headquarters. Unfortunately, this may have been a stupid choice considering that I don't really know anything about being in a campaign headquarters, who else is there, how decisions are made, or how things work. I think I'm going to have to redesign my plot from scratch. If I want to keep the political/headquarters angle, I need to educate myself in order to write about it accurately. Not sure where to look to find that information in layman's terms so that I understand it.
    teacherayala, Apr 23, 2011
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