Do you compare yourself to other writers?

[Alatariel]

I do and I know I shouldn't. Everytime I read a fabulous book or series, I think something like, "Wow, they write so beautifully. Such vivid worlds and damaged real characters." And then it follows, "I wish I could write like that." 

It's a problem. There are thousands of wonderful authors out there with a wide variety of styles. Each one is a delight to read for different reasons. When a debut novel comes out from a new author, and I see the glowing reviews, I think, "I want to write a story that evokes that same kind of emotion." And then I fall into a hole of despair because of the pressure I've put on myself. 

I struggle to remember that the reason I began writing is to help people enjoy reading. That's it. Whether that's as an escape or as an inspiration...doesn't matter. I just want people to enjoy my work. And I need to stop comparing myself to others.

[pelwrath]

Yes, and I'm working on not doing that. It's hard for me. Lack of confidence in my writing, my urge to get the movie in my head on paper, wanting to or maybe it's having the need to prove myself. Should I compare myself? To a point, yes. Look at other writer's styles, especially in a genre I've never written in or have little experience with; can anyone say horror? When I get repeated suggestions about bad POV and others don't reread their stories. ScienceGirl's threads on the different aspects of writing have been awesome and helpful.

IMHO Alatariel nailed it when she said, writers want others to enjoy our stories. Right now, I'm not so sure that many do enjoy my stories, and it's my fault when they don't, so I compare.

[ScienceGirl]

I think this is the curse of the writer. The only way to improve is to compare your writing to standards and fix it. So in a sense, we have to grow to criticize and fix every single sentence we ever write. That's such a traumatic existence in a sense. But I love both your writing and I think you both have the same flawed viewpoint about your writing. You expect to have perfection as soon as you pick up the pen.

This was the hardest lesson I ever had to learn about writing in my life. Your confidence will not come by being a good writer. It will come by being a good self-editor. It will come by acknowledging that something you've written is trash, but having the skill and confidence to mold it into something great.

What writers often do is like grabbing a handful of clay out of the bag, setting it on the counter, and saying, "It looks like a lump. All I can make are lumps." Well, that's not true. Until you mold and shape it, you're going to have a lump. But when you take the time to really work the clay, you can create a beautiful ceramic masterpiece.

Don't lose heart. No one really writes like that. All great writers have great editors. Focus your attention on becoming a better editor, and your writing will follow.

[RAVENEYE]

Oh, good grief, yes. All the time. I don't think it can be avoided, honestly. But we can discipline our brains to reframe the comparison from "I wish I could write like that" to "What can this author teach me?" Accept the challenge and put in the work to apply whatever that lesson is. I think it's those authors that intimidate us most that have the most still to teach us.

It's hard though, and a mind trip to do that constantly. It's too easy to focus on the negative and fall into self-doubt and despair over it all. It helps though to read back over the books we read when we were starting out and realize that they aren't as intimidating anymore because we have learned from them and our writing has improved from encountering them.

Reframe "compare" as "teach."

[ScintillaMyntan]

No, because I don't see myself as even coming close. I see good literature as instruction, not competition, because I'm not nearly that level. A kid in school might compare themselves to other kids, but not to the teacher.

I don't know whether this is good or bad. On one hand, it means I'm open to learning. On the other hand, I lack the mindset that what I write could actually be successful material. My accomplishments will stay small as long as I'm only thinking small. As a kid I wanted to be a novelist; now it's like I'm happy if once every three years I write a story that makes it into a shoddy free anthology by a dying publisher.

[bilance]

Yes I wish to find a writer that writes the same thing I write because it will show me how much potential my story has if written well. Then I will steal what is good and I will fix what is bad then throw in my own style to write a story. Alatariel you said that you are writing to help people enjoy reading. Realise that you should also be included amongst the readers that you want to help enjoy your work. So love your story and characters more. If you can enjoy your story, people like you would enjoy it too.

[RAVENEYE]

Jul 8, 2021 22:43:50 GMT -6 bilance said:

Yes I wish to find a writer that writes the same thing I write because it will show me how much potential my story has if written well. Then I will steal what is good and I will fix what is bad then throw in my own style to write a story. Alatariel you said that you are writing to help people enjoy reading. Realise that you should also be included amongst the readers that you want to help enjoy your work. So love your story and characters more. If you can enjoy your story, people like you would enjoy it too.

That's a good point actually.

I'll expand on it by adding that we need to keep in mind that we can't write to appeal to every reader, just as many, many books out there don't appeal to us as individual readers. So while we want to help people enjoy reading, we also need to write in a way that pleases ourselves as well, b/c we're our first and harshest critic.

I'm not sure that makes any sense at all. Oh well. It's early, and I've only had half a cup of coffee. 

[pelwrath]

Raveneye,
That makes perfect sense.