Don’t Lose Sight of the Gold

This post is a slightly personal one, but it might be useful nonetheless. From my personal experience, I give this one piece of advice: write for yourself.

In the world of publishing, commercialization, and best sellers list, it’s easy to forget the reason why you’re writing. You.

You are primarily writing for yourself and you must never forget that. When I was thirteen, one experience single handedly ruined my joy of writing. My father noticed my eagerness in writing and told me that I should hone my skills till I could write books worthy of the Booker Prize (European equivalent of the Pulitzer you could say). He kept marking my progress, forced me to show my work to him, told everyone I liked to write, who in turn pestered me about when I would get my work published.

Don't confuse the icing for the cake! 

It took me a good seven years before I realized that my writing had not progressed in this time and it was because I wasn’t writing for myself. I was writing for my family, friends, and for a target audience.

As serious writers, yes, we should keep in mind that a publisher won’t accept some nonsense work that only makes sense to you. But if you find your fear of acceptance getting in the way of your flow, please assess your priorities.

Now when I write, I remind myself that regardless of what anyone thinks of my work, it will first and foremost be my own personal tribute to myself. That may sound a little arrogant, but it’s not. A book is your creation, and let’s face it, if you didn’t think highly of your own work, you’d let the idea stay in your head rather than sending it off to a publisher.

Here are a few tips of how I keep my work MINE:

I never need a reason to add a
photo of a hot guy

1. I often build my characters around my personal heroes and if I’m getting really fan girly, even my favorite actors. You don’t have to go so far as to name your character Jensen Ackles, but yeah, why not add the green eyes? No one else needs to know your choice

2. Don’t forget to have fun with your writing. I insert jokes in my work that only make sense to me. It helps me keep perspective. No matter how much work I put in my book, I need to remember that I am just a spec in the universe and what I work on for my entire life, might be forgotten the minute I die. So I remember to laugh a little and keep a sense of humor when I write.

3. Publishing is Not the Benchmark

At the end of the day, the only person whose
approval you should be looking for is you.

Publishing does not equal quality writing. History is littered with examples of good writing that was ignored, even despised. My favorite poet Keats died a failure. So, remember, that just because your work isn’t published doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Conversely, think of some book did get published, but was absolute rubbish. So yes, in a world where cleverly disguised pornography can become a bestseller, we can go a little easy on ourselves when our book gets passed over for something more raunchy.

Remember above all else: If you’re happy with your work, the toughest battle is won.