Reacting to Your Own Writing

There are essentially two reactions you will have to reading your own writing:

1. This is the worst trite ever conceived and it should be ceremonially burned or

2. I am pure genius and they will write essays on my work in high school.

Often you will flip-flop between both extremes, and never believe something in the middle. Which is unfortunate, as most often the truth lies somewhere in-between those two sentiments. So how should you feel about your own writing?

It's best to have a healthy amount of belief in your abilities, but at the same time you should be open to improvement. My only advice then is this: do as well as you can and then hand it to a group of trusted individuals to form opinions for you.

The truth is, you as the author are too close to your writing to be objective. The jokes are no longer funny, the plot is no longer original, and the characters are no longer inspiring. You're just not going to see the flaws anymore, or the highlights.

So don't be too hard on yourself and don't believe you can stop trying to get better. Get it reviewed. It doesn't even have to be done by a professional. Just get feedback from a good sized group who will make you feel good but also tell you the truth. It's one of the hardest things to do and also one of the best for your writing.

Print it out. Post on social media. Start a blog. Show it to strangers and show it to friends. And when your turn comes, be willing to do the same for them.

The best reaction to your writing is somebody else's.