IWSG: Challenging the Norm

Today is the first Wednesday of the month and the Insecure Writer's Support Group, hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, CD Coffelt, Tina Downey, Isis Rushdan, and Michelle Wallace!

I started out writing about how bi-polar I had felt over the last couple of weeks toward my book. Then I decided. "Meh. I don't feel like complaining."

Has anyone attempted that 21-day experiment where you don't complain about anything? Here's the website: http://www.acomplaintfreeworld.org

Part of their mission is "We see a day when people focus on and speak about what they desire things to be rather than complaining about how things are."

I know some people will automatically respond, "Well, that sounds nice, but try actually living in this world and then tell me you have no complaints."

But that's already approaching the idea negatively, and think if you approach something as positive as not complaining for 21 days how you're approaching everything else in your life.

Sometimes, the writing world only has only negativity. We've all heard it--how hard it is to write, how all our first drafts are crap, how hard it is to land an agent, how difficult it is to find a publisher, people actually write blog posts that tell you, "It could happen...but probably not to you."

Come on. 

It's okay for people to have dreams, and you know what? A little naivety was never a bad thing. In fact, I don't understand everyone wanting to throw harsh reality in everyone's face.

Is it so you won't get hurt? Have too high expectations?

What's wrong with high expectations? Or dreams?

You might think I'm being silly--but why can't we look at that first draft as something that's not crap? Have you even thought about where you got that idea from? Did you read a lot of things about writers who talk about how all first drafts are crap, and then you started talking about yourself that way? I guarantee you that when I wrote my first book a lonnngggg time ago, I thought it was awesome...and there was a beauty to that thinking because now my self-esteem has taken blow after blow because of the "harsh realities of the publishing industry."

Let's start doing something different. 
Let's look at our drafts as awesome ideas.
EVEN if it is far from perfect.
Because what you've written--well, that's certainly a feat! Why shouldn't it be praised instead of stomped on and insulted? I think, if manuscripts had feelings, they would cry and not have very high self-esteems because of what WE say about our own creations.

Look, all I'm saying is without that glorious first draft, you wouldn't have that published book. BE PROUD OF IT. Give it the praise it needs. Look at it constructively and keep on making that first draft more awesome as draft after draft follows it.

Let's change the mind-set--that's the challenge to all of you!



Note...I hope this was uplifting, and makes some of you feel better today. :)