Being a writer is one of the most vulnerable hobbies to have, and vulnerability is terrifying.
I have many notebooks. One notebook for classes, which I often times fill with poetry ideas anyway, one that I keep in my car, one in my bedroom, one in my purse. Not to mention the numerous receipts or other random piece of paper that if you flip it over you are guaranteed to find an idea for a poem on it. I write all the time, with and without a plan or idea. Writing is my favorite hobby, its like a habit. Do I ever really share any of it? Not really. We write so much, and we share so little. Why? Why do we not feel good enough to share what we have created with others?
Lack of writing is not the issue here, lack of confidence in myself is.
The idea of putting myself out there in the most raw and vulnerable way is terrifying. More often than not, my writing insecurity rears it’s ugly head and makes me question myself as a writer. There has been many times where my writing has been shot down. Along with that, there were a number of times where my writing has been praised. The ambiguity of being a writer is something that you have to understand early on.
Not everybody will like your writing.
So, what do you do if somebody turns down your writing? You keep writing. When you continue writing even when somebody doesn’t see the value, that is a feat in itself. Having the courage to continue writing through all of the criticism is an important part of being a writer. There is not one commendable writer in history that was well liked all around. They simply continued when things were foggy. Of course, we strive to be well liked, and that turns over to our lives as writers as well. We want people to feel the tug on the heart-strings, and for our words to be stuck in their minds. Therefore, when we are unable to accomplish that, we diminish ourselves as writers and we share less and less.
I often question “What if I spill my guts into my writing and nobody likes it?”. The ambiguity of writing is where we find comfort and also the most stress. We as writers, are so concerned with so many small things that we forget why we are writing in the first place. We don’t take into concern the hours we spend at a computer or with our notebooks, forming words from the hardest and best times of our life. We forget who we are as writers because of self consciousness, and we need to take that back.
Writing sincerely and unapologetically is one of the strongest things that you can do. We want to convey feelings in our writing to our readers, but we are lacking compassion for ourselves in the meantime. However, we forget the potential positive impact that our words may have on another. So, when you feel that your writing is not worthy, know that it is worthy to the right person, and keeping your writing underwraps is a shame to the world.