Wednesday, October 14, 2015

In which I return and ramble about several Important Things

   Hi. It's me, your local-ish almost-nonexistent blogger.
   I'm back.
   Lots of things have happened while I was gone.


  • I went on a month-long vacation to California by myself. More on that later probably.
  • There's been a lot of friend drama in my life. Which isn't normally something I'd talk about on here, but it's been kinda detrimental to my writing time/ability and my mental health. So.
  • I've discovered I probably have ADHD? Which is probably why I have such a hard time blogging. And why I thought this list was gonna be a lot longer. Huh.

   Oh, that was the other thing. I decided to do NaNo this year.

*internally screaming*
   Now, this is a very scary thing for me. See, my max word count in one day is about 700 words? And apparently for NaNo you have to write 1667 words a day to win?
   Which is why I'm cheating. Wildly.
   I'm aiming for 25k instead of 50k, and I'm writing a story I've already started.
   I'd heard that NaNo frowned upon cheaters, so I was very hesitant to do this, but my friend and more reading have assured me that it's okay. After all, NaNo is about pushing yourself, learning how to turn off your inner editor and just write, not about writing 50k or else. So, I'm super nervous about this, but also excited.
   Which kinda brings me to my next point (see I can be organized on occasion). It's something that I've needed to say for a long time, and it's as much for me as for someone else who might need it.
   *deep breath*

   There's always That One. That one writer whose brain the muses seem to have chosen as their permanent abode. Sure, the stuff they write might not be perfect (hahaha who am i kidding they're practically perfect), but it's beautiful. And emotional. Their blog posts are perfect and always go up on time. Their plotholes, when they exist, are practically invisible. Their characters are so alive, you're afraid they'll jump off the page and punch you in the face (this is a very legitimate fear). Their settings and descriptions are tangible. And basically you just look at them like

This isn't even an exaggeration.


   And you know what? It's hard. It's hard when you look at them and see perfection, and then you look at your own writing and just...ew. No. What even is this mess. Why do I bother. This sucks. I can't believe I let this see the light of day. I should just stop. Yeah. That sounds good. I'll stop writing.
   No.
   Don't do that.
   Your writing is valid. Just because someone else is good, it doesn't mean you aren't. I bet if you asked that person, they'd point out all the flaws in their writing that you never noticed. They see backstage. They see those nights when the words don't flow and giving up seems like the better option. They see the panicked nights when they have a half-written blog post to publish the next day. They see the image on the page, and it doesn't match up to the vision in their head. They see the potential, and to them, their writing doesn't match up.
   Just like what happens to you.
   You know what? To someone, you might be That One Perfect Writer. Or maybe not. It doesn't matter. Because you are valid. Your writing is valid. The things you write, the things you feel, they are important. Your writing could inspire someone. It could motivate them. It could save their life. Or maybe, it'll just be important to you. It doesn't matter who it matters to. But I promise you. It matters.

   I leave you now with these wise words of Tyler Joseph. Don't give up. Keep writing. Keep fighting. You matter.

7 comments:

  1. I tried to comment and I don't think it went through? But UGH YES. This post is so relatable and I really needed to hear it. Obviously. Because it brought me close to tears. But I'm really glad you're doing NaNo and writing and this is going to be lots of fun and hopefully not that much stress. And for real, tHaNk you for posting this.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm so sorry about your friend drama!!! I hope I is not causing more!
    And yeah I relate too! But not just with writing, you know some people think I'm the One Perfect Person. But they don't see exactly what's really going on in my life and all the flaws I really have. So thank you for posting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow. This is so good, and so true. NaNo, and life and writing in general really, is about pushing /yourself/ not comparing yourself to anyone else.
    So /yes/. Very much. Thank you for this post. :)


    Alexa
    thessalexa.blogspot.com
    verbositybookreviews.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. Comparison is definitely the bane of any writer. It's really hard to think one's writing isn't any good because someone else's is so fantastic. I totally feel you there. Best of luck with NaNo! I believe with the young writers program you can officially set your goal for 25K and still win. NaNo is hard, but you can do it! ^ ^

    storitorigrace.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete