Insecure Writers' Support Group (IWSG) is a really awesome meme that you should be doing along with the rest of us writers. Unless you truly are happy with your writing and don't feel the need to vent about your insecurities because they don't exist for you. But, really.... Don't they?
IWSG is hosted by Captain Ninja Alex at his blog, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
IWSG is hosted by Captain Ninja Alex at his blog, Alex J. Cavanaugh.
This month's IWSG question is, "Did you ever say, 'I quit'? If so, what made you come back to writing?"
I have to laugh at this question because I've tried to quit writing so many times over the last twenty years, it's better to just drop the first part of the question altogether. I've been a very insecure writer for a very long time. I remember about ten years ago giving it up completely to become an 'artist,' but, after a year of even MORE struggle and toil (as if it could get any worse), I started writing again and realized it was so much easier than drawing people and things realistically.
But, again, I tried to quit only a few years ago because I was a silly newbie writer (was still in that newbie phase, which lasted a significant number of years) who conflated how I felt about writing a particular novella with how good the novella was. Or, I just didn't even think about it's quality. I don't even know, but I got some supremely harsh feedback that was honestly inappropriate and needlessly rude, and proceeded to metaphorically fling myself off my writing roof.
Only for a few weeks or so, though, did I quit before I was back to it, again. So, that lovely former critique partner didn't succeed in whittling down the competition, after all. Although, I was forever changed by such a blindsided hit, but it was a good change, as I can see now. It certainly woke me up to how truly crappy of a writer I was at the time (perhaps, still am).
I proceeded to go through a difficult phase of writing that probably every creative person goes through, which is flipping HATING the thing you used to love doing the most. Writing was no longer fun and it was then that I had the best reason to truly throw in the towel. But, nay. I still persisted because I've got nothing else to do. That works for stick-to-it-tiv-ness, right?
I guess I just wanted to see if there was actual light at the end of that dark tunnel. You hear how there is always supposed to be, and you just hope against all hope that other people are right. I do now see that they were right, after all. I have finally come out of the dark tunnel, or am coming out of it, anyway. I'm phasing into a stage where I am learning to do things with my writing that I always wanted to be able to do, but didn't know how. It's great! And it's FUN to write, again. I love it! Now I remember how it felt to be writing ten years ago when I thought I knew what I was doing and didn't really.
I also now highly suspect the true reason behind why I struggle to finish the novels I start writing. It's because I was always able to see how I wanted to write them, but wasn't able to do it at the time, and thus, would not be able to finish them. I guess I'm just too objective about my own writing and can see how bad it is and how it's not living up to my standards. The only solution is to learn how to write up to my standards, so I'm trying to do that now.
So, that's my long-winded story. What's yours? You a quitter like me, but keep getting back on that horse because horses don't ride themselves?
