My mother always says, 'just write'. In doing this, you don't worry about the audience, because in that moment, the only audience is you. - Sarah Hamlin
It's one of the hardest things to deal with as a writer... rejection. But when it comes to writing, even if someone does get published, not everyone in the world is going to like your work, while there might be a few that are forever changed by it. I've been thinking a lot lately about how there's so much comformity in today's society. Everyone is out to please someone else all the time, other than themselves. In writing, when we send manuscripts or poetry in, we often feel the pressure to please the publisher. And that's good, don't get me wrong, but someone's best work is more-often-than-not from their heart. When things come from the heart, it's genuine. I have found in the past 11 years that I've been writing, that the work that pleases my family, friends and exibit readers the most is that which has a piece of who I am in it.
When I was sitting down with my writing instructor on the subject of my memoir, he said very boldly that what made my story so different was the fact that I was a writer. Throughout my first draft, I was very careful about how I worded things and about what language I used to protray emotion. He said that he knew which parts of the book I had tossed and turned over, and because of that, he found those parts very difficult to get through. He said couldn't hear my voice after the first chapter. Voice is big. ALWAYS keep your voice in there. An example from my disscusion with my instructor is when I would use a swear word to send home a certain feeling or thought. I had censored those words because I was concerned about my parents' reaction to them. But my teacher reminded me that if I got my arm cut off, chances are I'd be saying a lot more than, "oh, ow, that hurts." He said not to over do this type of language, but the more of ME that I put into my characters, the more enjoyable.
When I was sitting down with my writing instructor on the subject of my memoir, he said very boldly that what made my story so different was the fact that I was a writer. Throughout my first draft, I was very careful about how I worded things and about what language I used to protray emotion. He said that he knew which parts of the book I had tossed and turned over, and because of that, he found those parts very difficult to get through. He said couldn't hear my voice after the first chapter. Voice is big. ALWAYS keep your voice in there. An example from my disscusion with my instructor is when I would use a swear word to send home a certain feeling or thought. I had censored those words because I was concerned about my parents' reaction to them. But my teacher reminded me that if I got my arm cut off, chances are I'd be saying a lot more than, "oh, ow, that hurts." He said not to over do this type of language, but the more of ME that I put into my characters, the more enjoyable.