Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Write For Yourself - You First Must Acknowledge The Fall, And Why You Fell, Before You Can Get Up Again

(Details for giveaway below...)

Last week, I began my comeback to the blog scene with touching on the main reason above others why I was M.I.A. so long.

Writing became frustration devoid of fun.

Now for writers like myself who want to get published,  I know full well there are times we must slog through things we find neither pleasurable, or simple to execute as they are to advise, but we also didn't start writing to torture ourselves either.

Remember, we started writing because we each had stories to tell.

We all kept writing, even when times got tough, agonizing over dozens of countless rewrites, revisions, and restructurings of our manuscripts to get them in top form.

We put in the blood, sweat, tears and time to achieve short and succulent query letters that at best, showcase our balance between craft and commercial appeal.

We endured learning more about publishing than we sometimes want to know.

Because we believe so much in our stories, real or imagined, we will do anything in our power to make it happen, no matter long and uncertain the road getting there may be, 

However, there comes a time, even for the most committed and serious writers, when persistence wained, and feelings of jealousy or inferiority creep in, hard as you try to keep them out. It's important to note here that while it's vital you don't let these negative thoughts poison your mind as well as your passion, you're not a heartless hypocrite if you've felt this surge of envy for other writer's success, especially if you know them personally on some level.

But keep in mind that the same writers you feel in the shadow of, once and sometimes still, feel the same as you, and if you know them personally, might still wish they could improve at X writing or marketing skill that YOU do better than THEM! Without even realizing it.

While I've read many articles and how-to guides that do their best to break down the steps needed to achieve your writing goals, too often these how-tos treat you more like a soulless, robotic army grunt, than someone who doesn't learn well under pressure, and I'm in this camp for sure.

It's not just kids and teens who have unique learning styles, be they autistic or not, adults also face similar issues, but often I feel we sometimes unfairly treat fellow adults like flakes who simply can't "Get Tough" the same way, especially among their same age or generational peers.

These people are not self-pity freaks. Nor are they lazy slobs who'd rather waste time "complaining" than make good use of it, we just don't learn well when we're forced to be faster, and speaking for me here, when I'm forced or feel pressured to pick up the pace, my clumsiness and short temper set me up for a fall, figuratively and even literally on the really bad days.

But we're just people who are trying every day to be better than yesterday, as I'm sure many who follow blogs like this strive to do all the time, you may just simply recover slower than most from many of life's ills, be it about education, religion, and other facets of daily living that can get on top of anyone. 

Don't feel alone here. 

I live this struggle too, and even if you don't, chances are you know one writer or two who meets some or all of the following symptoms above.

With this in mind, I came up with a list of tips and strategies that nearly any Non-Type A writer can benefit from. The only pre-requisites are in the following quote below-


"I want to be a better writer than I am right now. Am I tired of housing a jaded vagabond in my heart day after day? Am I finally ready to evict him?"


For those of you who who've been through similar struggles, I urge you to share some highlights from your experience, it may help other writers overcome what's blocking their comeback trail.

The first two who comment to this post will win the following-

Reply Prize #1:  $20 Barnes and Noble E-Gift Card*
Reply Prize #2: $10 iTunes gift card*

(*Prizes can only be awarded to residents in U.S. or Canada)
-Hawaii and Alaska are eligible-

Another giveaway's coming this week so keep your eyes sharp for another chance at winning some fun prizes. 


Keep checking back to T.A.A. today and all this week for tips and strategies that keeps me going. Hopefully one of them will help some of  you as well.

Until Next Time,
May the Fantastic Fauna Be With You,
Taurean


UAPDATE (8/18/11): Giveaway's Officially Over!
Winners, e-mail me at the following address to claim your prizes-
taaddicts-AT-yahoo-DOT-com


5 comments:

  1. Well, well. I had many comments brewing in my head as I read this!

    I really like your point about how not just kids and teens have different learning styles. I am definitely a visual person (like to see the words on the page) and not an audio person (I cannot, for the life of me, listen to an audio book...my mind wanders).

    I also like your advice about not being jealous about other writers' successes. I feel that I find myself inspired, truly, when an author-friend of mine gets an acceptance! It reminds me that goals are attainable, and gives me a kick-in-the-bottom to get on the ball submitting my work, too.

    Thanks for pouring your mind (and heart) out here. And I love the "May the Fantastic Fauna Be With You!"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Miranda, I do struggle to keep fear and jealousy at bay sometimes. I'm also glad this didn't come off too preachy, nor too sappy, an even keel is the best way to handle topics like this.

    And congratulations, you are the first to comment on this post, meaning you've won a $20 Barnes and Noble E-Gift Card!

    Just e-mail me at the following address-

    taaddicts-At-yahoo-dot-com

    I'll contact you soon to award the prize.

    Taurean

    ReplyDelete
  3. Still waiting for the second winning comment. I can't award Miranda her prize until someone else replies, and you can't just comment off-topic to win the gift card, you must stay on topic of this post as Miranda did, I want to award both winners their prizes around the same time so it's fair.

    Hang tight, Miranda, as soon as we get another thoughtful reply in the vein of yours, your prize will come.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Taurean,

    I, like Miranda, am a very visual learner. I can't even concentrate on learning peoples names unless I see it in writing in some form or fashion. I also need COMPLETE silence and concentration to learn anything. It's really aggrevating sometimes.

    As far as being jealous or envious of other writers successes, I have not felt that yet. I am thrilled to hear of other writers good fortune because it makes me realize that it's attainable for anyone who is willing to do the hard work it takes. Part of that could be because the very first thing I got brave enough to submit, was accepted. So that sort of proved to me that maybe I could really do this!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yay! Allyn's is our second commenter, and you've won a $10 iTunes gift card. Please e-mail at the highlighted address from this post. I'll contact you and Miranda shortly to award your prizes.

    If I remember right, you won my first giveaway, right?
    Lady Luck seems to be with you here! Thanks for sharing, it can be hard to put oneself out there.

    Don't feel too bad folks, I've just started another giveaway in today's post.

    The first three to comment will each win a special mystery prize, but I will reveal what they are until I get three great on-topic replies. Remember, the main goal of this blog is to share and inform, and hopefully the entertainment I'm planning's comes through soon.

    Taurean

    ReplyDelete