Sunday, May 23, 2010

49. Penvy

Get your mind out of the gutter. The other penvy:
We all get marked up with the green pen from time to time. There's no crime in that. I am not saying that your are not allowed to criticize other writers or this crazy industry. Yet, there's is a problem when you become overly concerned with(and angry about)the success of others. This is a warning sign that you are headed down a slippery slope into paralysing bitterness.

Her simple advice?
When you are working, you feel better about yourself. After all, writing is what makes you a writer. And when you feel like a writer, you are less worried about the latest celebrity book deal. Your mind is on your characters on your poetry, on your art....
And remember, you started writing because you love to write. When I say get to work, I am not telling you to pick up a hammer and start breaking rocks. When I say get to work, I'm saying get back to you. Get back to where you started from when you said you wanted to be a writer, when you didn't know anything about the business.

I say again: "You started writing because you love to write...Get back to you."

(x-posted at Nunez Daughter)

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