Writers greater than yourself · 3:29am Sep 11th, 2014
So the other day I was looking at the front page to see if there were any stories that looked interesting, and I found this one titled, "Letting Go". The short description sounded interesting, so I went right into it.
About twenty minutes later, and I was in awe. Letting Go is a great one-shot with a quick pace, memorable idea, and excellent writing, and best of all, some truly unforgettable character moments that stick with you long after you're done, especially between Spike and Twilight. But a little while after finishing it, I fell into the trap that I think all writers fall into at one point or another: Jealousy (though envy works too). I learned early on in my writing career how demoralizing it is to pour your heart and soul into a written project and make it the best you can, and then see someone else come along who pops out something that's far better than your own work, and seemingly done without the slightest bit of effort. When I was younger, there were a few times where I almost gave up writing because of seeing authors who turned out these giant, Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones length epics with deep, memorable characters, fantastic stories, and writing quality that made you want to keep turning the page. Now, well over ten years later, it's much easier to get over those feelings by knowing that I'm far more experienced and practiced than I was back then, and knowing that ten years from now, I'll be even more experienced and better than where I am now.
Still, it's occasionally discouraging to come across work so good that you're envious. I think one of the biggest pitfalls of any writer is being told to be the next Updike, the next Steinbeck, Crichton, and other famous writers who popped out classics that are still read long after their deaths. It's hard to be inspired to continue when you're being compared to a saint- how could you ever hope to reach their level? But one secret I've learned over the years is a saying from my favorite poem, "Desiderata."
"If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself."
I wish I had been told this when I started writing, as it would have saved me a lot of anguish. But there's much truth in it. No matter how much I improve, there will always be writers better at conveying emotions, better at doing dialogue, stories, etc. But they're not me. And I'm not them. And while critics and publishers always want us to emulate their saints, we shouldn't. I'm not meant to be someone else. I'm meant to be me, and develop my own voice and skills, as are all of us, whether we write or not.
Oh, and Letting Go is still a great story. Highly recommended.
i have read a lot of stories myself and i know for sure other talents far surpass my own. but i find encouragement in that personally, and inspiration...........
also damn you for guiding me to that story....... the feels man, the fucking feels.
Greenback, you are up there already.
Yup, I can relate. What I tell myself when I tend to get envious or when I don't feel like writing because of that, is: I started writing because I like it. Yup, there will be better writers out there, but that won't stop me.
It's curious that you mention Crichton, as Jurassic Park was one of the first properly "grown up" novels I read when I was a kid back in third grade. Suddenly I wasn't confined to the "boring" kid-friendly novels in the elementary section of the library, and I sought out all of his other books and devoured them. Years later, I started to take a serious interest in writing as I moved into college, and then Timeline came out. It was new Crichton, it had all my favorite stuff... time travel, quantum physics, medieval knights, etc. So I grabbed it and started reading... and that novel changed my life.
Not because it was that good, but because it was that... well, not "bad" but... not good either. It was so incredibly predictable as to be boring, and had tons of technical inaccuracies to boot. It was the first time that I thought "I can do better than that!" and seriously realized it was true. Not that I'd always put out gold, but... but I knew that I'd grown enough that I COULD (at some point) write things better than a world famous, best-selling author who I had previously idolized. I know that sounds like a lot of ego... and in a way it is, but it was incredibly defining for me as a writer. It was motivation more than any compliments from friends and personal acquaintances could ever be. At least until I started writing Pony... because, let's face it, the fans and readers are are THE BEST!
Yeah this whole line of thinking descends into a deep pit of unknowns, and the answer to those questions makes you wonder about the fabric of reality. In the end, without confusing you too much, I'd just advise to do what you enjoy doing most regardless of what other people think.
Because if you start comparing yourself to other people, then you have to ask yourself what's defined as "better" or not. It's entirely possible that you could become a lot more well-liked as a writer if you did Tragedy-Comedy stories, but then again you have to wonder about why you're writing in the first place. If the purpose of writing is to give you pleasure, and you give up that pleasure in search for other people's approval, would that approval give you more pleasure than if you just kept doing what you were doing in the first place?
If you disagree with me, then please tell me why because I too am still searching for that answer.
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I think the best answer would be to seek a happy medium between the two: Write what you love, and market it to people who might likewise like it. Anything you're passionate about will be felt, read, or seen by those who look at your work, compared to those who don't care or aren't emotionally invested. I might gain more viewers and followers on fimfiction if I were to write certain types of stories, but my heart wouldn't be in it. With MB2, however, I really look forward to doing each chapter, and thus I think that does make a difference in the finished product.