The Power of Words

I think the most difficult thing for me as a writer is dealing with negative feedback and/or the lack of feedback. I'm not sure which one is worse.

I am part of a very active online writing group. We send each other 3,000 words or less of something we have written twice a month. I love my writing group. I receive different and helpful feedback from each one. When I am going through reviews I generally look for feedback that is constructive so I can improve my writing. But I think I focus too much on the negative comments and just gloss over the positive ones. Two days ago I read one particular review that just made me feel like dirt. She said something to the effect of, "Right now, I really don't care about this scene or these characters." Now, I've felt discouraged and embarrassed before, but that comment cut deep.

Now many of you might say, "don’t take it personally," but my writing is personal. It's a big part of who I am. If you gave a speech in church or played an instrument for an audience and someone told you, "that was really boring, I didn't like it," and then told you a plethora of things you did wrong, chances are you would probably take it personally.

Anyway, this wasn't the first time I wanted to give up on the whole idea of being a writer. After all, who is going to miss my writing? Well, even if nobody does, I would miss it. And I couldn't help but notice this quiet little hug around me. It was as if my family in Heaven were whispering to me, "don't give up!"

So I decided to tell my writing group how I was feeling. I didn't spill a whole lot about it, just that I felt discouraged. The leader of the group sent me a message back that simply said, "Brenda! Don't be discouraged! You're a great writer!" And, you know what? That was all the extra push I needed to keep going. That right there shows the power of words.