#HarshWritingAdvice; January 30 2021

Somehow, January has been the shortest and longest month I’ve experienced in quite a while. I haven’t had much to say on the blog front, even as the world goes through some truly buck-wild stuff – on my end, I’ve been taking some time for my mental health, writing when I have the mental capacity for it. Being apart from my kid has been more of a detriment, so my ‘vacation’ kind of backfired.

My apartment in Toronto doesn’t have an elevator and is situated on the top floor, so that was rough, too. It inspired me to recalculate my whole budget while I figure out how and when I might be able to move to a wheelchair-accessible place! On that front, I could really use some help!

I have a Ko-fi page taking donations, and every $100 brings me one month closer to being able to move. As it currently stands, I estimate I could look for a place for November 2021.

With that out of the way, I thought I’d play into Twitter’s algorithms. ‘Harsh Writing Advice’ is trending, and I’m here to give you all some! So, without further ado:

1.      You need to love your story! Regardless of what you intend to do with it – traditional publication, putting it online, sitting on it forever – you’ll never complete a story to your satisfaction if you aren’t in love with it. As long as you’re enjoying your concept, your characters, the world you’re playing in… That’s the most important thing.

2.      Someone else is going to love your story, too! This can be harder to accept than the idea that people out there are gonna hate your book, especially if you’re revising and tearing your story apart. Trust me on this! Whether it makes the reader think or it’s just a good time, your book will appeal to someone other than you.

3.      When people don’t like what you’ve written, it’s difficult not to take that personally. There’s only one good way to take criticism, though: graciously. Even if you think someone is coming at you personally, chances are, your reader has a reason for attaching so much emotion to their feedback! All critique is an opportunity to learn and do better, and they’re affording you that chance.

4.      Last bit of advice: ‘Giving up’ and ‘considering other avenues’ are different things. If traditional publishing isn’t working out for you, maybe it will in a few years from now! If you want to research self-publishing, though, that’s not a failure! If you think your story is ready and this is the time for it to be published, then look into your various avenues!

Some of that you’ve undoubtedly heard before, but it’s worth keeping in mind. I believe in you, fellow writers!