No Writer is the Same
I've said this before and I will say it again. Every writer has their own experiences. Every writer has their own journey. Every writer has their own style... The theme here is, no writer is the same.
Why am I telling you something many of you already know?
Because, first of all, everyone needs a refresher on this concept. This was something that took me a long time to learn because I never felt as if I could be considered a writer until my second book was out in the wild. After the first book, many people were in awe at the fact that I'd written a book at all. Most of the comments were, 'Wow, I could never do that! Good for you!' To me, it felt once the second was out there, the world knew I was serious about it.
Let's back it up just a little to that sentence where I told you every writer has their own experiences.
My own experiences happened to be several English teachers telling me I needed to keep working on my writing. One literally left my entire paper in red, giving me a D because she said I didn't understand grammar. One college English professor even called me out in the middle of class at the end of the term to tell everyone I'd made enough great progress during the semester to earn a C, claiming I'd struggled with my writing the entire semester. Talk about a spotlight, huh?
When I started writing, I was so focused on telling the story, I'd apparently thrown out all the rules in the process. Each teacher or person who told me I needed to improve helped me improve, but it wasn't until one person came along that I was able to flourish.
I'd had a high school English teacher, Mr. Vulopas, who urged every student to follow their dreams. He was the most excited and passionate person I'd met in my whole life. You always left a conversation with him feeling as if you'd be able to achieve whatever you set your mind to. Anyway, he complimented me about my short story for an assignment and asked if I'd be interested in writing for the school newspaper. Now, upon my previous experience, every teacher had explained that my writing needed too much improvement to excel anywhere. But, I decided to give it a go and loved it. Truthfully, I learned a lot as it was run by older students who showed me the ropes of writing.
What was more significant about Mr. Vulopas's impact on my writing was that after writing for the school newspaper for a while, I told him I'd tried writing a book and asked if he would read it. Imagine my surprise when this guy thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He accepted and read it while we all went away on Christmas break. Nervous beyond belief when we all returned from school, Mr. Vulopas returned my printed manuscript to me with tons of feedback. He noted it needed work to improve but that he loved the storyline, the characters, and how he could hear my voice in the story.
For a person whose foundation and belief's in their own writing ability was shaky at best, it was a huge boost to hear that I had affected one reader. Me!
The point I am trying to prove here is that no matter how difficult writing may seem at the beginning, or the type of feedback you receive, keep pushing. If you write simply for the enjoyment of writing, then keep at it!
No writer is the same. No writer starts spitting out pages of gold or stories that will keep readers turning the pages. The more your practice, the more you dedicate yourself to your work, the further you will get.