We set our own limits.
“If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent Van Gogh
If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot write,” then by all means write, and that voice will be silenced. If your critics and reviewers say you can’t write, then write some more.
Writers, much like artists develop their craft by engaging in it as much as possible. As writers, we learn by reading, book after book after book. We develop our craft by writing a little, and then writing a lot more.
For an artist, an image fills the mind and is brought into the open through the brush. For the writer, a collage of images, a kaleidoscope of characters, stories and adventures fill the mind, and come to life through words.
As writers, we use words the way an artist uses the brush. An artist gets better with practice, by painting as much as possible. A writer gets better the same way, by using words as much as possible.
What shall we do when the critics and reviewers say we can’t write? Write a lot more! We don’t write for their benefit, but for ours. We don’t write in the style or use the particular words that they’d like. We write based on the kaleidoscope in our mind.
Some of the greatest artists and writers were ridiculed for having no talent while they were alive, only to be revered and admired after death. Criticism and poverty were not enough to stop them.
So, are you going to let one, two or a dozen negative reviews stop you? Keep writing! Write what’s in your head and your heart. Read what others are writing, so you can increase your collection of words, and then go and write some more.
O.M. Kiam is a blogger for JenningsWire, a blogging community created by Annie Jennings.
