Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Writing Greatness and The Green Eyed Monster of Jealousy

This morning on Twitter (and in BlogHer Chatter) Laine Griffin of The Laine List expressed how happy she was to see so many new bloggy faces coming to the party.

I absolutely agree! Come one, come all...snuggle into that writing chair and let those fingers fly!

While I was contemplating all the new blogs to discover, that will ultimately cause me to do even less of the chores I don't do now, I couldn't help but feel a bit of apprehension for some of our newbies.

I was a newbie once. I launched into a NaBloPoMo, jumping straight into the fire - so much potential for  going up in flames in the most spectacular of ways. I also started exploring other writers posting on BlogHer...Whoa! These people write...like, for reals and shit. They are WAY better/funnier/poignant/poetic/graceful with their prose than me! Their sentences? They are probably grammatically correct even (see how I put 'even' at the end, where it makes the least amount of sense? Yeah, like that)!

Engaging? Sheeeyah...like, oodles more than me. All of it, all of them...just oodles more everything than me!

So, I felt like maybe I shouldn't be writing...anything. And, maybe, I sort of hated them a little bit. But in that way that says, "I think you're fabulous and would love to read more of you, but don't take offense if I hope your computer explodes and you can't afford a new one."  Yes, I realize it was harsh...but I didn't wish THEM bodily harm, just the tools that reflected their brilliance.

Least you think I'm a monster, I am only being honest with my initial feelings. However, my jealousy was (and still is) shallow, because I really cannot hate someone with talent. Nor do I think anyone should. But, for someone who is new to sharing bits o' themselves with all those curious eyeballs reading our posts, it can be difficult to think of ourselves as worthy in the midst of so much...muchness. We question whether we have what it takes.

Well, the answer to that is yes. Yes. You. Do.

It dawned on me that greatness is a wonderful thing and who wouldn't want some of it bestowed upon them? But, we cannot all be great...because then none of us would be great. Know what I mean? The blog-o-sphere needs the stellar writers just as much as it needs those that are not. It needs medium writers, it needs hesitant writers, it...most of all...needs emerging writers. I love to read fabulous writing. But, those fabulous writers are not the boss of all the stories there are to tell - they don't own 'great'. They may have figured out how to use it before some of us, but that's just fine - there is lots of it left for the rest of us.

So, my advice to all the new voices here on BlogHer (or anywhere) is not compare your own brand of greatness to anyone else here. Read and learn, but do not let the green eyed monster of jealousy derail you. What you have to write, what you have to say, IS great in its own way. So, keep on writing and don't forget to share what you've done...BlogHer is a BIG active place and you deserve to be seen!

Write on!

12 comments:

  1. I love this!! (And not because you mentioned me, and thanks!) You know YOU have what it takes too!!

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    1. Yes, I actually do! Acceptance is a process, but the more I read the more I know that greatness is not "one size fits all". It comes in so many forms and we accept what is 'great' about us and that's that!

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  2. Dude. I don't know how many times I thought I should stop blogging because who cares what's going on in my little life, right? And I don't know how many times I thought I should stop writing, because don't you know how many THOUSANDS of unpublished authors have a "book" in a drawer or stinking up the 10-cent self-pub lists on any one of those I-Will-Make-You-A-Famous-Author "publishing" service sites? How could I ever be good enough when so many others have failed, right?

    Except maybe "failure" only happens when you stop contributing. And maybe "success" means a lot more than page views and Please-Sell-Our-Product emails. I'm getting better at ignoring both of those things. Maybe one day I'll be a better writer, too. :-)

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    1. Exactly...nail on the head...bulls-eye...tag a zombie in the brain..."failure only happens when you stop contributing." So, then...success happens by just contributing in some way. We...us...you...me...define success.

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  3. I love this! Your blog makes me smile! After the "awesome" morning I have been having, it was refreshing to read. Keep going on! :)
    P.s. I get jelly too.
    Stephanie

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    1. Aw...thank you!!I wish you many, many awesome mornings!

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  4. This is something I need to hear/read on a regular basis. I wrote something along the same lines after attending BlogHer last year. I do not consider myself a "writer" in any way, shape or form but I am coming to terms with that. I love the way you phrase it - medium writers.

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    1. I read your post last year! If I didn't reply, I'm sorry...I might have just absorbed the info and not thought of something 'smart' to reply with. And, if I meet you in person...I'll pinch you, and make it smart, because you ARE a writer.

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    2. Oh...and...I'm totally fine with 'medium' or even 'lite'. As a mom we are fine with a bazillion hats...why not that of 'writer'? Why is everything else we have to do o.k., but writer is too elevated beyond our means? No...I think not. You are absolutely entitled to that title.

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  5. Imperfect human that I am, I get jealous of other people's writing sometimes, too. You are so right that there's room for all shapes, sizes, and kinds of writers-- and one of the many great things about blogging is that there are no gatekeepers to prevent us from hitting "post."

    If the message and content engage me, I don't really notice much else about the writing. And I'm an English teacher!

    Keep on writin', y'all.

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    1. Oh..my..freaking..gawd, thank goodness for the imperfect. You said it more perfectly than I could have, "If the message and content engage me, I don't really notice much else about the writing. And I'm an English teacher!" Yup!

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