Writer's disappointment - what are yours?

[Inky]

Dear friends,

People often state that the literary/arts community is extremely competitive and that anyone lacking resilience should quit - I agree with this idea but also believe that it is enforced in unhelpful ways. I will speak very generally, because I have noticed these themes in my own and other emerging writers' journeys.

Writers often experience disappointment when they fail to achieve some goal (e.g., win a writing grant, place in competition) but feel pressured to bottle up their negative emotions. Some fear that if they express their disappointment, others will simply tell them to quit because they 'lack resilience'. However, I think it is more helpful to give them feedback on how to improve their writing technique and reassure them that not achieving their goal does not make them a failed writer forever. After all, failure and disappointment are completely normal - but people (not just writers) are told to avoid both at all costs.

What disappointments have you experienced? For me, I often feel frustrated that my progress is not fast enough, since I haven't managed to win any substantial grants or competitions.

Thank you for  reading this post
I look forward to hearing your responses

Inky

[nosuchmember]

Dear friends,

People often state that the literary/arts community is extremely competitive and that anyone lacking resilience should quit - I agree with this idea but also believe that it is enforced in unhelpful ways. I will speak very generally, because I have noticed these themes in my own and other emerging writers' journeys.

Writers often experience disappointment when they fail to achieve some goal (e.g., win a writing grant, place in competition) but feel pressured to bottle up their negative emotions. Some fear that if they express their disappointment, others will simply tell them to quit because they 'lack resilience'. However, I think it is more helpful to give them feedback on how to improve their writing technique and reassure them that not achieving their goal does not make them a failed writer forever. After all, failure and disappointment are completely normal - but people (not just writers) are told to avoid both at all costs.

What disappointments have you experienced? For me, I often feel frustrated that my progress is not fast enough, since I haven't managed to win any substantial grants or competitions.

Thank you for  reading this post
I look forward to hearing your responses

Inky

Some very good advice I found at : https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/writing-and-the-creative-life-trust-the-process-cebce58af78c

It seem to fit in with what you posted. 
Thank you for your post Inky.    jt


The author Shaun McNiff is an artist, seemingly far removed from the world of screenwriting.
But what he has to say is fundamental to storytelling:

Whether in painting, poetry, performance, music, dance, or life,
there is an intelligence working in every situation. This force is
the primary carrier of creation.

If we trust it and follow its natural movement, it will astound us
with its ability to find a way through problems — and even make
creative use of our mistakes and failures.

There is a magic to this process that cannot be controlled by the
ego. Somehow it always finds the way to the place where you need to
be, and a destination you never could have known in advance.

When everything seems hopeless and going nowhere… trust the process.

[trainer]

I'm not sure if this will count: what I deal with is perennial disappointment. I aim to write with sustained effort, but I just can't sustain the effort. I give myself a target: never a word count target, but number of hours. I usually aim for 4 hours at a stretch, but I fail. The most I manage is 1 hour.

I have a Word doc that has over 30,000 words, but they are all different threads. It's a collage--not an intentional one, but one that is simply a product of my short-lived bursts.

Sometimes I'm happy with just 250 words, if it rings true and clean, but effort is where I struggle.

[Gyppo]

Work with what you've got.  If one hour bursts seem to be your natural limit then accept it and work with it.  Trying to force yourself to work for a longer continuous sessions will just add to your frustration and set up a mental roadblock.

But try to leave some kind of unfinished 'hook' so you can attach the next session to the previous one.

If you're not enjoying it, don't force it.

Gyppo

[nosuchmember]

My biggest writer's disappointment is :  to many subjects I'm compassionate about....and not enough time to devote to the telling of any of them in away they each deserve.   So. I admire writers who strive to share their fiction/nonfiction stories.        jt

[Louis D. Thorpe]

I don't think there is any excuse to be disappointed today, unless you are in it for the money.

I am surrounded by so many wonderful books, I will be dead before I have the time to read them all -so what on earth do I have to complain about.


http://jajool.com/honest

We will all write, write, write right on until we are gone and then, there will be nothing left to say.


PEACE !