The Things Every Writer Needs to Hear

@AnneGenevive

I'm sure everyone in life has heard the phrase "if you want it, go get it", it's something that can be easily said, but very hard to do. In my experience, if you want to do something creative and put yourself out there for something different and new, it'll never be easy. People will judge you, "why does she want to be a writer? Why does she like to act?" those are some of the questions I've heard way too much. Instead of being a lawyer or going into business, which is what "normal" people should do, I am choosing something that makes Me happy and alive. I've learned that if you want to do it, you have to block everyone out and simply go after it, I guarantee that it is harsh to hear people criticize you or tell you you're crazy, or simply not believe in you. That's why I am here, to try and help with that.

A creative career is a huge challenge, people will be constantly telling you you're not good enough and trying to discourage you from doing what you want, to that you can say "Go to hell". It is your dream, your passion and your motivation, if you believe you're good enough, do it and never let anyone tell you otherwise. It may be a very competitive market where you can face a lot of rejection, but the key point is to always move forward and to believe that one day someone will say yes to you. Another key point is to hope for the best yet expect the worst, you can't think that everybody will say yes to you because that's not how things work. Some people will love your work and others will hate it, if you have that little group of haters constantly criticizing you, don't let them get to you. Just think that while you are writing, they are simply reading, that you are the one with the imagination to come up and actually create a world, a character, and a story. They are simply the ones reading it, they can't say that your work is "stupid" or that "That's not how things work", because at the end of the day they are reading your work, the one they are complaining about, so the joke may be on them.

A trait that I've learned everyone must possess to move forward is to always recognize your mistakes, you can't write a chapter and expect everyone to love it if it's poorly written. You need to hear what the readers are saying and learn to differentiate good criteria vs. haters, because you may think someone is simply a hater for saying "I think it needs to be more in depth" or "descriptions are way too long, gets boring after a while" because they may be write. You need to check your writing and if it is wrong, admit it and then change it. There are things or ideas people will love and others simply won't, and it's nothing against the writer, it's just that not everyone likes to read about vampires, or about killers. So you can't take everything to heart, because you're not a perfect writer and you will make mistakes. You may write a book and then realize that you don't really like the story and have no idea where to go with it and just stop, but you may have an amazing idea and get super creative and write 50 chapters. It's okay, if you don't love it, just admit it and move on to something that you do love.

I heard a quote once "She said she could, so she did." and that quote has inspired me so much and every time I get discouraged, I say it over and over again until I forget my insecurities. How can you achieve something if you give up? If you don't even try? Because sitting in your couch all day or simply not playing because you're afraid of the game is not an option in life. You have to sit there and think "yes I may lose, but maybe I will win, but if I don't try I'll never get to find out." It's like applying to college or falling in love, you can't not do it because you're afraid of rejection, because maybe they would've accepted you and you'd be happily in love or finding your passion in that college. You also have to always say "Failure is not an option" that is something that drives me to always succeed and go after what I want, even if people will think I'm crazy or that I'm out of my league. Well, screw them, because if I have enough passion and love for it, I can't sit at home and wait for it to come, I have to go for it.

So to those writers out there who are discouraged, or afraid to write because "What will people say? What if they hate it? What if nobody reads them?", well I say to forget about them, forget about the world actually and simply go into that world that makes you happy and create what's on your mind, or in this case, write it. You can't write what people tell you to because at the end of the day it's your book and you should be proud of what you've created. If you love it, then that the only thing you need, other opinions don't matter, it's your book and only yours matters.

My dad once said, "how can you be so sure you'll lose if you haven't played?" it's similar to what I've previously mentioned yet still encouraging, for me at least. How do you know people will hate your book if they haven't read it yet? You need to let go and give it a chance, relax and let them make up their minds about it, if they love it then good for you, if they don't, well at least you tried. So don't give up, if you like it, do it because at the end of the day it is your book and of no one else. Don't get discouraged, don't put yourself down, don't give in too easily, put up a fight. If you love it, then it's always going to be worth it.

Lastly, I'd like to thank @sarsar14 for including me in the book and being so nice in approaching me about it, I think this book is an amazing idea and very needed to writers out there. So thank you for being so thoughtful about writers and for trying to help those who need it. I also want to thank her for helping me and encouraging me with my book and what she's said to me about it, I really thankful for you nice words are comments. I hope this chapter helps anyone out there who needs it.