It is the first Wednesday of a New Year!!
Trying to write around the holidays is like trying to roller skate in an elevator.
By now, you should all be familiar with Alex J. Cavanaugh's Insecure Writer's Support Group. A.K.A. IWSG. If you don't know it by now, where the hell have you been???
So, I was trying to figure out what I wanted to blog about. Well, insecurities, of course. I've been pretty supportive the past couple of posts, I think today I'll be the whimpering, sniveling, insecure writer.
Sort of.
If you've been keeping up with me, you've seen my recent posts, I mentioned creating a web presence. Ways you should act, how you should respond to trolls, (people who try to provoke a negative response from other people while they spend their 44th birthday living in mom's basement...) things like that.
You want people to like you, when you get right down to it. Everyone wants to be liked. There's no reason to be snarky in every post. Bad things will happen, you will vent and get over it. Post something happy.
I want people to like me. I feel bad when people don't. I feel like I've done something to offend someone. I panic when I lose a follower. But I have to stop and think... some of my fellow bloggers have walked away from blogging and their accounts may have just gone "poof!" which is why I lost a follower.
Or I did piss someone off.
I've worked hard and I've been diligent in my writing and revising. But still, what if someone looks at my work and goes into Nerd Rage or something. (Nerd Rage is when a game stops responding, crashes or they read a fantasy book that is totally lame...) Insert me in that last one. I've put my baby out there. I've poured myself into this story and am leaving myself wide open for rejection. The bad reviews are going to come and I will have to suck it up and take it.
Gah!
So many things to worry about, you know? It makes you feel insecure. Who wouldn't feel insecure? I'm still insecure about my writing, but the support of my fellow authors and writers and even readers is what keeps me going. With such a wonderful group like this, we should all be successful.
What are your insecurities?
13 comments:
With all the insecurities swirling around writers, it's a wonder anything gets written. :)
I worry about a web presence. If someone unfollows, I often wonder what I did and how I could improve to keep that from happening. I never thought that they might have left blogging, thus their ID leaves too.
I think focusing on the positive as much as possible is all we can do at times. :)
Aw... I get that panic when someone goes POOF! too. And I want everyone to like me... It's a habit. But without those habits we wouldn't be us I guess. Thanks for stopping by earlier and good luck with your 'baby'!
Lx
I can get pretty wound up by my Inner Critic. It's like torturing myself with a heated pack of needles pecking at my head.
But I eventually make my way over that hump so I can get some gosh darned writing done.
I doubt you've upset anyone. You've had great posts. If they go poof, well, I'd consider it their loss.
I know what you mean. Everyone out there desires to be liked and admired. But the trick to being liked and admired is... well, not desiring to be liked or admired. Or at least not actively putting out out there that you're trying to get people to like you.
Funnily enough, the most popular people are the ones that don't try to garner attention, but just be themselves. Everyone envies and wants that kind of self-confidence and security, and they automatically gravitate toward it. ;)
I know what you mean. Everyone out there desires to be liked and admired. But the trick to being liked and admired is... well, not desiring to be liked or admired. Or at least not actively putting out out there that you're trying to get people to like you.
Funnily enough, the most popular people are the ones that don't try to garner attention, but just be themselves. Everyone envies and wants that kind of self-confidence and security, and they automatically gravitate toward it. ;)
How could you piss someone off? I'm still laughing about the guy in the basement. Besides, if everybody liked us, then that tells us we are not doing something right. We aren't being effective.
At least that's my story. And I'm sticking to it.
@ Cherie ~ I know! I get all panicky and worry about improvements but I must be doing something right.
@ Laura ~ You're most welcome! Thanks for dropping by as well.
@ Angela ~ I'd like to assassinate my inner critic sometimes. lol! And thanks for your kind words. :D
@ Jasmine ~ Very true, you speak wisdom. :)
@ Alex ~ Well, that's what half these trolls are! lol! And you're right, we aren't being effective if everyone likes us.
And, when we forge forward, despite those insecurities, we can turn around and laugh at them. Oh, they'll come back another day, but we'll be stronger.
Write on!
I so appreciated your sentence, "Post something happy." Growing up I was always told if you can't say something nice don't say anything at all. I also believe when you come across something (like your sentence) that speaks to you, you should post a Thank You! comment.
My biggest insecurity is not having written anything for a god few months. Getting the first paragraph written is such a struggle that I don't bother. All the ideas are there, it's just making them materialise.
Yeah, that scares me sometimes. I'll notice that I have one less follower, and I'll frown at the screen. But I move on. :) Right now...I'm not feeling tooooo insecure about stuff (though I did blog about it yesterday. :) )
You crack me up! The guy living in his mom's basement!! Love it. Chin up and smile dear. You've just inherited another follower
The troll comment made me happy, so posting something happy really does works! Looking forward to more. (new follower)
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