I could have selected an easier question to answer to my last blog post but no, I thought I'd throw myself in the deep end and be a little more existential.
Every writer at some point or another, has questioned not only their capability, but whether they have or will ever write anything of value. I know that I definitely do. I'd be lying through my teeth if I said I never doubted myself and still do. And honestly? I definitely don't think I've written anything worth writing. Or reading. I think for writers its generally quite relative as to whether we've written something that is just totally (to quote some) "AH-MA-ZING" (with an additional 'omg'). I don't know whether I have and personally, I don't think that's a bad thing because most writers are quite under confident about their abilities.
Well, I'm guessing so.
I hope so.
Because, you know, its debilitating. If you hear another writer say 'well, I've got a book published and I've had a good reaction' - I feel like crap. I just say 'uh, no' and wrap myself up in bed for a few days and enjoy the comfort of cigarettes and tea. Its great. But I'm not writing.
So to conclude from a muddled post, I haven't written anything worth writing. And is that bad? No! Definitely not! (I hope so). If it is, then, well, I'm either doing a lack lustre job or I'm okay. I'm sure Emily Dickinson wasn't worrying about her audience and sometimes I cross my fingers that half the world won't read whatever silliness I have to speak.
You tackled a really tough question here, and your response has been self-reflective and very critical. I think you reflect very well the confidence issues that alot of people have about their work and how exactly writing can be deemed 'worthy' or not. Is having a book published sign that the work was worthy of being written? In which case, are Twilight and 50 up there with Dickins and Shakespeare?
ReplyDeleteI think that if a peice of writing can cause a positive change in one persons life, even if it's only ever the writer, - from either making them smile, lifting their mood, or inspiring them to greater things, than it was worth being written. The value of your work is measure by the emotional reception. In which case, I can sate that this blog-post was worth writing, because it reminded me that every writer has their darker days, and that if we didn't...well, we wouldn't really be writers, would we?
I thoroughly enjoyed this post! It's interesting, thought provoking and personal. I agree with Madeleine: it was worth writing.
ReplyDeleteI like the modesty and personality that comes across here. When dealing with such heavy topics, it's probably most constructive to be a bit self-effacing.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very personal post and I love the honesty here. As writers if we have something worth writing about then we should do it without hesitation.
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