Petrified of sharing my writing

[fear&loathing]

I came across this website looking for other aspiring authors who could provide support or accountability. I am terrified of sharing any aspect of my writing with anyone I know personally so I figured this was the next best option.

 

[pmmg]

Well, you are pretty much anonymous to us...

And I've seen lots of writing.

 

[fear&loathing]

That’s the beauty of it I suppose. Like most people I feel like my work it pretty much dog water lol

 

[pmmg]

I think we all live with the simultaneous belief that our work is genius, and our work is crap, both at the same time.

 

[fear&loathing]

Most definitely. I see everything I’m trying to do in my mind and I think it’s great then when it comes out onto the page it always seems to miss the mark. I’ve been playing around with the idea of using some sort of voice to txt for my rough drafts to cut out the middle man (my clumsy fingers)

 

[pmmg]

I am not sure I have ever accurately gotten my first imagine on to page the way I imagined it, and I've been at it for 30 years.

Take a page from Bob Ross. There are no mistakes, just happy accidents.

 

[fear&loathing]

Epic lol and you’ve been writing longer than I’ve been alive! I’ve been at it off and on for a couple years. Had to get my horrible ideas out of the way and for the first time I feel like I’m producing something worth finishing at least for myself.

 

[skip.knox]

I echo pmmg. I was "writing" for close to 30 years. Now I look back and realize I wasn't painting, I was sketching. Nothing ever finished.

It is important to get over the fear of showing your work to others. They won't like it? Guaranteed someone won't. Guaranteed someone else will say it's got potential but needs work. The only way to dodge that is to stay hidden. And that ain't writing, that's just sketching.

One way I dealt with that fear (we all have felt it), is to write something else. For me, I wrote another story, not the one I was "really" writing. I just figured I could write a story and it would be okay if people blew it up (I was in a writing group at the time) because it wasn't my "real" project. That one was a novelette, about 20k or so. You could do something similar with a short story. It was easier to stand outside the story, as it were, and hear comments from others that, frankly, would have been much tougher to take on my main project.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I think most people have a fear of sharing their writing to a greater or lesser degree. I know I certainly do. I deal with it by ignoring that fear for a moment, simply jumping off the cliff and then freaking out.

So take what you want to share, hit that share button or send button or post reply button, and then panic. Works every time. It's gotten me to 6 published novels at least...

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Writing is one of those rare professions that require both hubris and humility. We need the hubris that our words matter and we truly believe that they belong in the wider word, so your characters can live rent-free in someone else's mind... for a change. And we need the humility to know that we are always learning, always growing, and that knowing perfection is unattainable is no excuse to not try.

I also like how Scotty Lynch says it.

 

[fear&loathing]

All of your insights are very reassuring. I feel like my confidence as a writer is fragile and if I were to get the wrong kind of feedback it would destroy it. On the other hand I understand nothing is perfect and everyone will have their own opinions so I think I just need the right people to share it with so the criticism is fair and constructive.

 

[pmmg]

I find it hard to read my feedback. I also find it hard to read my reviews. I find I am very guarded about my energy, and reading that stuff steals it and makes me think on it all day, or all week. It kills my productivity. And sometimes, it hurts. But...its a necessary evil.

After a while, I put my editor brain on and just go through it. It doesn't hurt as much then.

In my last effort, man...it really takes to wind out of your sails to have someone tag every sentence. It was like a long exercise in masochism, specially to the ego, but...now that its over, I agree with many comments, and I cant tell the difference in the writing. After some smoothing over, my voice is still there and his is gone. Its all good. Just a thing.

 

[minta]

I am not sure but that makes sense. Sharing writing is scary, especially with people you know. Anonymous forums seem much safer and still quite supportive, though.

 

[Genly]

This is a good group for people who want to learn how to write publishable fantasy, or who just want some feedback on their ideas. Posting your work for a critique is always nerve-wracking, but it's one way to find out where you stand in your journey to learn how to be a writer. Speaking from experience, it's a bit like the difference between teaching yourself the piano and paying a concert pianist to give you their opinion of your playing. It's very valuable feedback. And don't be immediately deterred if you go through a period where you get some negative comments. A lot of writers go through this stage.

And yes, the anonymity of this forum helps a lot...