How to NOT get discouraged from writing when faced with the genius of others?

[Mad Swede]

I've never felt overawed by other writers or their books, and I've never really thought to compare my writing with that of others. I just wrote, because I knew I had to. Later a friend read the story and suggested I submit it to a publisher, and things have gone from there.

I guess my message would be to just write. Keep writing. Write complete stories, scenes and vignettes. Write when you can. Write about different things. No-one writes a perfect story first time, and by writing you'll find how (and often where and when) you write best and what your writing style is. All that really matters is to be yourself when you write, because it's your take on the underlying story concept which makes it original.

 

[xena]

I usually try to remind myself that the amazing books didn’t appear out of nowhere. They were the result of lots of practice and rewriting. Also, even books that aren’t perfect got published because someone finished them.

 

[Penpilot]

Thank you for describing your own writing process and timeline - and congratulations on your successful publications.
Yes, the craft. It comes down to that. I guess I kind of hold on to the idea that a writer is born, that writing is pure "talent" that can't be learned. Even if I know, technically, that mastering anything has to do with learning, persistence and practice. Need to get past this kind of genius thinking. I would really love to be able to see someones unfinished work and then later the finished version. I guess that would put everything a bit into perspective.

I play hockey. I've been on skates since I was 6. I'm considerably older than 6 now. I've never played at a high level. Never will. But I have a passion of for it that pushes me to improve because all the worries of the world fade away when I'm on the ice.

When I watch professionals play and see them do things that I cold only dream of, my thoughts don't drift towards giving up because I'll never reach that level of competency. In fact, seeing that level of skill fuels me to try and get better and maybe, just maybe, I'll have a moment or two that comes close.

I'm the same way with writing. Why should I be put off by someone else's success?

One of the great crushers of a dream is unreasonable expectations. I see it all the time out in the wilderness of the internet. People think they have this idea and they're going to write this book and it's going to be on the same level as a pro, even though they've never written a book in their lives. Some will finish that book, and it's going to be terrible. Some will stumble and fail and never finish at all. But regardless of which it is, they're almost always crushed by the end results, because they didn't meet expectations.

They don't realize that expecting to be able to write on a pro level on the fist try is like someone thinking they could step on the ice and play pro hockey without ever having skated in their lives. Nobody is that gifted, and I think it's the same way with writing.

IMHO, when starting off, write without expectation other than to get out the story and have some fun. Allow yourself to make mistakes, because that's where the learning begins. One of my collage writing teachers said one of the reasons he wanted us to write regularly was to empty ourselves. I didn't know what that meant until I really started doing it down the road. When we write regularly, we start to empty ourselves of expectations of what the story could be or should be and just let it be what it is. It helps to gets us out of our own way.

If you're looking for a place to start learning, try looking up books on story structure. Learning about structure helped me a lot. A large part of writing involves organizing ideas so they come together and make sense. Learning story structure helps with this.

And lastly, you wanted to see some "unfinished" work. Many years ago Brandon Sanderson put into the wild the first draft for his book The Way of Kings. You can find it on his website and download a copy.

The Way of Kings Prime

In conjunction with The Way of Kings leatherbound Kickstarter I decided to take The Way of Kings Prime–something originally planned as a stretch goal reward on the Kickstarter–and give it away for free here: Download here The Way of Kings Prime was written in 2002 and is basically an alternate...

www.brandonsanderson.com

In addition Sanderson and the co-hosts of the Writing Excuses podcast put out this anthology of short stories called Shadows Beneath. Here's an excerpt from the amazon description.

Not only does Shadows Beneath have four beautifully illustrated fantastic works of fiction, but it also includes transcripts of brainstorming and workshopping sessions, early drafts of the stories, essays about the stories’ creation, and details of all the edits made between the first and final drafts.

Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology eBook : Sanderson, Brandon, Kowal, Mary Robinette, Wells, Dan, Tayler, Howard: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology eBook : Sanderson, Brandon, Kowal, Mary Robinette, Wells, Dan, Tayler, Howard: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

www.amazon.ca

 

[Diana Silver]

I write cause I like writing. What does it have to do with what other people write?

 

[Demesnedenoir]

The true greats are born with innate talent and then hone the crap out of it. I poopoo the million words theory because I wrote nothing near a million words of fiction, and I poopoo the idea that there isn't inborn talent—that notion is ridiculous, frankly—BUT eventually the work must be put in unless you get freakishly lucky with a certain topic or story or something like whatever launched Fifty Shades.

I was probably in college when a lifelong friend of mine said something like this to me, horrible paraphrase I'm sure: "when people talk about your writing and talk about its complexity... I was reading something the other day and I realized it wasn't what words you used, it's how you use the words." IMO big words are the crutch of journalists and intellectual types looking to kick up the reading level of their work and/or justify the cost of their degrees, LMAO. That was my artist phase, which eventually got tempered by my technician phase, and finally blended into the colloquial grammar bending epic fantasy voice I use today. My UCLA classmates probably wouldn't recognize my books from having read my screenplays.

All my babbling comes down to Craft and hard work are enough to succeed, but being born with even an inkling of a gift will help, heh heh.

Thank you for describing your own writing process and timeline - and congratulations on your successful publications.
Yes, the craft. It comes down to that. I guess I kind of hold on to the idea that a writer is born, that writing is pure "talent" that can't be learned. Even if I know, technically, that mastering anything has to do with learning, persistence and practice. Need to get past this kind of genius thinking. I would really love to be able to see someones unfinished work and then later the finished version. I guess that would put everything a bit into perspective.
It's funny that you mention Fifty Shades, because reading this book (couldn't finish it) I actually thought "well if someone dares to publish THAT - and is even making money from it - then there's no reason for me not to write". So it was a huge inspiration in the sense of, if she can do it so can I. But it was also confusing because here I was, thinking one had to be able to actually write well in order to get published.

 

[minta]

Writing’s like sports or any skill, you can’t quit just because others are better, and your work doesn’t have to be perfect or famous to matter.

 

[AnnaGoeldi]

I play hockey. I've been on skates since I was 6. I'm considerably older than 6 now. I've never played at a high level. Never will. But I have a passion of for it that pushes me to improve because all the worries of the world fade away when I'm on the ice.

When I watch professionals play and see them do things that I cold only dream of, my thoughts don't drift towards giving up because I'll never reach that level of competency. In fact, seeing that level of skill fuels me to try and get better and maybe, just maybe, I'll have a moment or two that comes close.

I'm the same way with writing. Why should I be put off by someone else's success?

One of the great crushers of a dream is unreasonable expectations. I see it all the time out in the wilderness of the internet. People think they have this idea and they're going to write this book and it's going to be on the same level as a pro, even though they've never written a book in their lives. Some will finish that book, and it's going to be terrible. Some will stumble and fail and never finish at all. But regardless of which it is, they're almost always crushed by the end results, because they didn't meet expectations.

They don't realize that expecting to be able to write on a pro level on the fist try is like someone thinking they could step on the ice and play pro hockey without ever having skated in their lives. Nobody is that gifted, and I think it's the same way with writing.

IMHO, when starting off, write without expectation other than to get out the story and have some fun. Allow yourself to make mistakes, because that's where the learning begins. One of my collage writing teachers said one of the reasons he wanted us to write regularly was to empty ourselves. I didn't know what that meant until I really started doing it down the road. When we write regularly, we start to empty ourselves of expectations of what the story could be or should be and just let it be what it is. It helps to gets us out of our own way.

If you're looking for a place to start learning, try looking up books on story structure. Learning about structure helped me a lot. A large part of writing involves organizing ideas so they come together and make sense. Learning story structure helps with this.

And lastly, you wanted to see some "unfinished" work. Many years ago Brandon Sanderson put into the wild the first draft for his book The Way of Kings. You can find it on his website and download a copy.

The Way of Kings Prime

In conjunction with The Way of Kings leatherbound Kickstarter I decided to take The Way of Kings Prime–something originally planned as a stretch goal reward on the Kickstarter–and give it away for free here: Download here The Way of Kings Prime was written in 2002 and is basically an alternate...

www.brandonsanderson.com

In addition Sanderson and the co-hosts of the Writing Excuses podcast put out this anthology of short stories called Shadows Beneath. Here's an excerpt from the amazon description.

Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology eBook : Sanderson, Brandon, Kowal, Mary Robinette, Wells, Dan, Tayler, Howard: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology eBook : Sanderson, Brandon, Kowal, Mary Robinette, Wells, Dan, Tayler, Howard: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

www.amazon.ca

Thank you Penpilot - also for the links!
I know what you mean. I am very realistic about my athletic performance and seeing pros doesn't put me off either. I guess where I'm making my mistake is that I am already writing on a daily basis.. just nothing that is fictional. I write detailed reports as part of my work and also keep a diary. So I thought it shouldn't be too hard to translate one skill into another. Which was most definitely the Dunning Kruger effect
So yeah I need to strengthen my writing muscles.

 

[Oldgnome]

It was once emphasised to me that writing is a craft. Just like a craft it begins with a pile of raw materials and these are honed and arranged into a form over time. It is very easy to feel awkward at the beginning and indeed to feel awkward if you have not written very much before. I have noticed that some people work hard on the first five pages and only when those five pages are close to how they would like them to be do they press on with the first draft. This is how I write. Others get the whole draft out of the way in one swift period of writing and then improve the whole gradually. I think during this lengthy process we should not be too concerned about how we compare to other writers except through reading exceptional books, because they can guide us. It is unavoidably true that other writers have lots of experience but one day you will have lots of experience too. I would say in my case, being autistic, that I have often had doubts about whether I am making sense in my writing - or to put it another way, making social sense in my writing. I have spent more time than I should comparing my writing to other aspiring writers and feeling that I will never catch up to a general idea of what is 'good.' It is best, I think, to see this feeling of inadequacy when it happens as a another path towards authenticity. In my time (and I have had rather a lot of it) I often feel reassured when a writer has a feeling for Humanity, for the sorrows and and the joys of life. The many challenges and defeats that a writer faces ultimately brings depth to the voice, and I think the voice is at the root of the whole business of writing. But it is also a craft, as I have said, a practical skill of putting language together. This takes time to learn, even if the voice is fully prepared and the vision is strong.

 

[Devor]

Writing isn't a skill. It's a bundle of different skills. Ideation, character development, the ability to comment on life, the ability to handle what feels like hundreds of different threads in your story, narrative technique, the ability to surprise people, and so on, and on, and more.

That's important. Because when you see the genius of others, you're seeing the couple of gold threads in a bundle of silver and copper. You're seeing the couple of skills that a writer can execute phenomenally well, and it's distracting you from the dozen or so other skills they're doing "pretty good" or "mediocre" at.

You can't get all of your skills to the gold star level. But mediocre to pretty good is a doable range. And then you can find the one or two skills that shine in your own work, build on it as your strength as a writer, and then "genius" suddenly doesn't feel impossible.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Who says they're geniuses? Who says you aren't? Don't fuss about comparing yourself with everyone else. Write and write, because they all do it, too, and we also read our reviews, and they'll be talking about you. Because you wrote and wrote and now you intimidate the rest of us. Now, go get it.

 

[Mad Swede]

Who says they're geniuses? Who says you aren't? Don't fuss about comparing yourself with everyone else. Write and write, because they all do it, too, and we also read our reviews, and they'll be talking about you. Because you wrote and wrote and now you intimidate the rest of us. Now, go get it.

I'm going to agree with A. E. Lowan and add something.

It generally isn't your contemporaries who decide if you're a literary genius or not, that judgement is usually made by later generations. Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare are both good examples of this. Dickens' work was heavily criticised by contemporary British critics and it was only much later that his works came to be seen as classics. Shakespeare was regarded was a popular playwright but during the period other playwrights were regarded as better, and it is only later that he becomes a literary icon.

So don't compare yourself to anyone else. Just write what you want to write in the style that you choose. Go get 'em!

 

[Prince of Spires]

It generally isn't your contemporaries who decide if you're a literary genius or not, that judgement is usually made by later generations. Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare are both good examples of this. Dickens' work was heavily criticised by contemporary British critics and it was only much later that his works came to be seen as classics. Shakespeare was regarded was a popular playwright but during the period other playwrights were regarded as better, and it is only later that he becomes a literary icon.

The same with Tolkien, who won very few awards during his life and wasn't considered as real literature. Or Bram Stoker's Dracula, which sold reasonably well when first released but was no where near the best selling book of the year in which it was released.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I'm going to agree with A. E. Lowan and add something.

It generally isn't your contemporaries who decide if you're a literary genius or not, that judgement is usually made by later generations. Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare are both good examples of this. Dickens' work was heavily criticised by contemporary British critics and it was only much later that his works came to be seen as classics. Shakespeare was regarded was a popular playwright but during the period other playwrights were regarded as better, and it is only later that he becomes a literary icon.

So don't compare yourself to anyone else. Just write what you want to write in the style that you choose. Go get 'em!

I love Shakespeare, and am always tickled by the fact that Dear Will not only was a popular playwright, he managed to achieve the status of legend with a body of work that carries plot on the back of dog tricks and dick jokes. There's talent.

 

[The Dark One]

Your English is far better than my German, aber wenn man mehr langsam spricht kann ich besser verstehen.

Don't be intimidated by genius, be inspired.

Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognises genius.

 

[Lynea]

Also, I just wanted to add that in lots of cases, it's more the input of editors and beta readers that build up a writer to their own peak of 'genius'. Very rarely is it solely one writer's mind that's poured into the work.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Also, I just wanted to add that in lots of cases, it's more the input of editors and beta readers that build up a writer to their own peak of 'genius'. Very rarely is it solely one writer's mind that's poured into the work.

I like to tell aspiring writers that existing as a career writer means walking a tightrope between hubris and humility - the insane confidence that our words are wonderful and as unique as we certainly are, and the humility of knowing that's all bullshit and here, we've opened a vein. Please be gentle.

 

[Prince of Spires]

I like to tell aspiring writers that existing as a career writer means walking a tightrope between hubris and humility - the insane confidence that our words are wonderful and as unique as we certainly are, and the humility of knowing that's all bullshit and here, we've opened a vein. Please be gentle.

I'm about to hit publish on my next novel, and this is exactly how I feel at the moment. Swinging between thinking it's great and wondering why I even bother trying...

The best thing to do in my experience is to ignore both and just keep forging ahead.

 

[AnnaGoeldi]

Thank you all so much for your encouraging inputs on this topic! Since I posted this question and joined this forum, I feel like I've already gained insight. The most important for me is that I feel like my mindset is changing. I realise that it just takes so much time and dedication. And that's okay. So me progressing slow and my writing sucking at the beginning is not unusual or a bad sign.
And I keep motivating myself with the idea that even if I should write crap - writing anything is still better for my brain than just passively consuming social media. So, I do it for my health at least .

 

[Lynea]

Nora Roberts says, 'You can fix a bad page, you can't fix a blank one.'

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I'm about to hit publish on my next novel, and this is exactly how I feel at the moment. Swinging between thinking it's great and wondering why I even bother trying...

The best thing to do in my experience is to ignore both and just keep forging ahead.

Exactly. People are much less likely to challenge the presence of someone who looks like they belong. Always walk into any situation like you own the place and built it with your own two hands. Or maybe more. This is Fantasy. And oh, the doors that can open... If you can't dazzle them with dexterity, baffle them with bullshit. I've based my entire life on this.