Photo: Son of Groucho – (CC BY 2.0)
I swear.
Comparison can make you better, or incite you to burn your keyboard.
Writers have to deal with things like ‘commas’ and ‘semicolons’, the rules of which are akin to international hostage negotiation.
So whenever I read Rowling, watch Moffat, or try to keep up with Amy Sherman-Palladino (Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and Gilmore Girls, respectively) I have a choice to make. I can either look at their perfect plots, spitfire dialogue, or flawless character development and despair, or I can pull out a pen and take notes.
But how do I stay in a learner’s mindset?
How can I look up to them without looking down on myself?
Photo: Lee Coursey – (CC BY 2.0)
Pull a Mufasa.
Remember…who you are!
Cheesy? Yes. Very.
True? Also yes. Also very.
Oh look…some mind altering drugs questions:
- Do you believe that you are called to this?
- Does this make you come alive?
- Does this help you process the world around you?
- Do you love this?
Any one of those reasons is reason enough to keep going.
Because the world needs people who are fulfilling their calling.
Because the world needs people who are alive.
Because the world needs people who understand where they stand.
The world needs people who are in love.
Write. Paint. Shoot. Draw.
Even if when it’s
Typo. Splatter. Lens-cover-on. Scribble.
Because we need it.
But maybe not for all the reasons you were thinking…
The challenge is to have the hard conversation with yourself and answer those questions! You might like having those answers later 🙂