Okay, the title is a bit misleading...my first negative reinforced a few things that I had already known about writing, but that was something that still came as a shock.
Two of my coworkers are fellow geeks. D&D, PS3, Xbox (whatever version), you name it, they have played it, or still do. It's pretty cool to have something in common with them, and makes me feel more at home there. One of them reads, a lot. He comes in early and reads before the start of work, reads over lunch, and I think some nights he stays and reads after work. So when I said I was self publishing a fantasy book, he was excited to read it. And I was equally excited to get back an opinion from someone whom I know has read the genre extensively, and who just reads in general.
So he started it. And slowly as the week it took him to read it went on...he wouldn't look me in the eye, when I walked past he slumped his shoulders, and in general his body language was not positive. I knew something was up.
NOW, in my last semester before graduating college my capstone professor disliked my writing. She essentially told me that I couldn't write, and that I have no talent with the written word. My first thought was disbelief...how could a professor who is supposed to help me grow into a better writer be so condescending and rude?
My second thought was to wonder how I got through all of middle school, high school and college (until then) with teachers praising how I wrote? Were they wrong all of those years? Was writing really my passion? Did I really have a talent, or was I just kidding myself, and the teachers didn't have the heart to tell me? I ran through all of these questions, and finally decided on an answer.
She just didn't like my style (Or me).
I often forget that writing is art, and like all art, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is subjective in nature. Two people can read the exact same words, and have completely opposite reactions and opinions.
I finally asked my coworker for his thoughts, and he gave them to me. Slowly. It was like pulling teeth to get him to really tell me his opinion. And it wasn't all bad. He really enjoyed Riona and Feoras's relationships, how well paced the story was, and the world building. But he also pointed out a few things that weren't so positive, or at least he thought they might not be.
It was difficult to hear someone talk about what they didn't like about my story. But I have to remind myself why I am writing. Honestly, I don't write for the reader. I write for me. These are my stories, and while I love it when people say that they enjoyed it, that isn't why I write.
I write for me. I write because I love the act of writing, planning, plotting and world building. I love losing myself in the worlds and characters my imagination comes up with. And while I will take any constructive comments into consideration, ultimately it is my story.
No one else can write it like I can, just as no one else can write yours either. So what if only 9 out of 10 people enjoy them? I love them, and you should love your stories too!
As always, stay drunk on writing so that reality cannot get to you, and keep writing my friends.
Link to my book on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Through-Mountains-Chronicles-Incalescent-Trilogy/dp/1512254967/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1443014707&sr=8-1&keywords=through+the+mountains
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