Taking My Own Advice: Personal Post

I've written many posts on writer's block and procrastination. Well, I haven't so much had writer's block as the latter one lately. I've been procrastinating horribly in my writing. My excuse has been my hours having gone up in my job, but that's such a lazy excuse.

I've also been struggling with the core of my Drasia story. In my last post, I talked about how our stories can hide a serious element that is the heart and soul of the story and gave some tips on how to recognize what is lacking. I've had to take my own advice and examine Drasia, because for a long time there has been something wrong with the story.

I discovered it was my perspective. I was too absorbed in comparing what I was writing to other stories in the fantasy genre, and by doing so I was literally killing my story. I was trying to make it something it really wasn't, and I was letting, simultaneously, pride and bashfulness prevent me from writing.

Why pride? I was trying to make Drasia the next best-selling fantasy series. Obviously I never have thought of this as a real possibility, but as someone who loves reading and watching good fantasy, it's nearly impossible not to make some sort of comparison. I was moving farther and farther away from writing simply for telling the story to wanting to write my story to be recognized. YUCK!

Why bashfulness? By comparing my writing to great works like The Lord of the Rings or whatever else it be, I was beating down my own work. I slowly fell into the pit of self-wallowing and discouragement and didn't consider my writing to be up to par. Is my story as good as others? I say no way, but then again that's not for me to say. What I have to remember is that I'm not J.R.R Tolkien. I'm not J.K. Rowling. My writing is my own; my story is my own. I have to focus on developing and making my writing better rather than constantly comparing myself to others.

Now I hope to be able to update all of you soon on the progression of my Drasia series and let you know what other things I discovered it to be lacking. I figured this confession was enough for one day :)

So take it from me — don't let yourself beat yourself down based on others. It's not going to help make your writing better. Only your hard work, consistency, and diligence will make you the writer you want to be.


(**I found this post on tumblr via a friend on Facebook. The writer talks about the fallen dreams of being teenage writer. It made me look back at my younger teenage years and chuckle at myself a bit, but in a way it also addresses comparisons. I encourage you to read it! I Was That Teenage Writer **)