tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post384119763721187104..comments2023-08-10T03:35:55.682-07:00Comments on The Prosers: Amateur is NOT a Bad WordSheena Boekweghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227547053651725634noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-17138476848274061152012-06-22T07:55:04.395-07:002012-06-22T07:55:04.395-07:00Thanks Sarah! Pep talks are always welcome. :DThanks Sarah! Pep talks are always welcome. :DMelanie Crousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10353025724182677932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-48560880130508212552012-06-20T23:03:39.353-07:002012-06-20T23:03:39.353-07:00Thanks for giving me the chance to post again! I m...Thanks for giving me the chance to post again! I miss you guys <3<br /><br />There are days when I don't love the writing process as much as I used to, and I read a blog post a while ago that basically said if you don't love it maybe you ought to quit. I didn't like that idea. Which would I rather do: stop writing or start loving it again? That's a no-brainer. So I started to think about what it would take to love it and I realized that it was just a matter of letting myself be an amateur without guilt or judgment. And voila! Cue love hormones.<br /><br />Whether you choose to think of yourself as professional or amateur or somewhere in between, I think the end goal is the same: Doing what you love, and loving what you do :)Sarah McCanlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05692009969291537927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-87146785556278802912012-06-20T22:00:09.013-07:002012-06-20T22:00:09.013-07:00Thanks for covering me while I was out in that str...Thanks for covering me while I was out in that strange no-wifi land. Your post was beautiful and funny and poignant like always. Anytime you want to write a post, I'll gladly give you my spot. :)<br /><br />I think it is funny how everyone does expect more from an amateur writer than an amateur pianist or a painter or insert artistic hobby here. <br /><br />I also struggle with the idea that if you don't treat writing like a job, you will never get published. I get that it takes a lot of work to get to a professional level, but to me that is the exact reason you have to love it. If you aren't enjoying the process to some extent, then what is the point? If I'm not solving plot problems while doing dishes, or trying to sneak a way from my kids to write on line of dialogue, or feeling bummed every night that I didn't get to write more, if I wasn't loving the writing process even when it is hard and I feel like pulling my hair out, I wouldn't be doing it. Until I'm actually making money at this writing thing, it is a hobby, a passion, and I am an amateur. <br /><br />But that doesn't mean I'm not serious, that I'm not going to pour all the time I have and all my passion into it, that I'm not going to try to get published.<br /><br />But it is easy to get so focused on the publishing goal/dream and forget why I want to be a writer in the first place. Thanks Sarah for the reminder and for subbing for me. You are awesome. :)MaryAnn Popehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08618345950149423623noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-16433902158445800172012-06-20T21:38:03.804-07:002012-06-20T21:38:03.804-07:00@Sheena, I know exactly what you are talking about...@Sheena, I know exactly what you are talking about, and sometimes I just need to breathe and "write with the door closed," as Stephen King says. What really gets to me is the pressure to accomplish more, writing-wise, which often paralyzes me into accomplishing nothing. Ah, psychology.<br /><br />@Melanie, if the publishable novel you're talking about is the one that I am (finally) reading, then you are not allowed to chicken out :) But you are allowed to request pep talks whenever you need one! <br /><br />@Susan, I never anticipated that writing would lead me to such wonderful people, but the community is fantastic and it keeps me going when I get discouraged and would rather watch tv. Okay, sometimes I still just watch tv. <br /><br />@Stefan, thanks for reading! Yes, amateur should be positive or at least neutral but sadly people often don't use it that way. <br /><br />@Sabrina, you have to write that story. I remember the picture you posted. I don't think worrying about what's publishable before you write it does much for anyone's chances of success, anyway. I happen to love imagery and inner thought, so there's one person who'd read it! But I think you should always write for yourself first. It's one of the few places where selfishness can turn into virtue :)Sarah McCanlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05692009969291537927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-43042377180528146712012-06-20T21:01:38.518-07:002012-06-20T21:01:38.518-07:00Wonderful to have you back for a visit, Sarah. We ...Wonderful to have you back for a visit, Sarah. We miss you! <3<br /><br />I have a story - it's the one about the house that rises from the ground. It more imagery than action, more inner thought than dialogue. It might be unpublishable. But its image holds very strong in my mind, and I refuse to write it any other than how I envision it now. If being a professional means I have to give up on that feeling... well, I don't want to be a professional.Sabrina Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06218305456791199409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-31383033905405531652012-06-20T17:12:02.928-07:002012-06-20T17:12:02.928-07:00Great post Sarah!
The original meaning of the wor...Great post Sarah!<br /><br />The original meaning of the word amateur means "lover", so amateur is not a bad word at all! :)Stefanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08705496652945481096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-83076840534213907912012-06-20T09:06:22.179-07:002012-06-20T09:06:22.179-07:00Good to see you Sarah!
And yes, I'll just agr...Good to see you Sarah!<br /><br />And yes, I'll just agree with Sheena and Melanie. This is so timely. I've taken to writing 'this ending is mine and I don't have to show it to anybody - ever' at the top of every page just so I can fool myself into plowing through the final scenes of my novel.<br /><br />And I agree with Melanie, too, that I love the friendship and comraderie I've found in writing - it's definitely not a solitary pursuit.<br /><br />Thanks for posting again!Susan Buttarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456005411871122298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-42035232756472640192012-06-20T04:58:42.272-07:002012-06-20T04:58:42.272-07:00Yay Sarah! Welcome back! I've missed you.
You...Yay Sarah! Welcome back! I've missed you.<br /><br />You have impeccable timing too. I'm right at the point in writing where I think I've got a novel good enough to publish, and so I stop being a writer, because I can't bear the next step. I'm pushing through it this time, but it's so nice to have you put it all into perspective. I write because I love it, and because I love the friends I make when I do it (all of you!). <br /><br />Thanks!Melanie Crousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10353025724182677932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-53932509672755058912012-06-19T16:18:42.072-07:002012-06-19T16:18:42.072-07:00SARAH!!!
Ahem... hello Sarah, welcome back.
I l...SARAH!!!<br /><br />Ahem... hello Sarah, welcome back. <br /><br />I love this.<br /><br />Because not only is the pressure to be publishable and good enough agonizing and soul crushing, it also make my writing WORSE! All of that pressure destroys my creativity. I have this story idea that I know is really publishable, and every time I try to work on it, the pressure that it might work out scares me out of the safe creative space. I have to talk myself out of panicking. This is a good reminder to just breathe, and write because I love it.Sheena Boekweghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08227547053651725634noreply@blogger.com