Hi! It's been a really long time since I've written anything here.
Things have been going really well for me with my marriage and new home.
I really love the way things have changed here. A very nice job to all involved!
A couple of people have asked when I would finish my last story. I would really like to and there is a story behind it and why I haven't, and it goes back to a thing that is talked about a lot here, which is being nice about criticism.
The last chapter I did, a well meaning person (I guess) made a comment about how I didn't put something in the story description. It probably didn't seem like much at the time to the person that made it, but that comment, coupled with some other issues I was having combined to just sucked the enthusiasm I had for writing right out of my soul. I haven't been able to write anything since, and I've tried. No one knows how many mornings I get up and just look at the keyboard and cry.
I'm not a great author. I write for myself and hoped maybe someone would like my stories too. I have no desire to publish a book on Amazon or anything like that. I also suppose that there are a lot of other people here like me.
But there's something that any potential critics here should know. I and a lot of people like me are very delicate emotionally. I can't deal well with people who want to criticize my stories without invitation to do so. If I ask you what I think, that's one thing, but if I don't, please don't volunteer, okay? Writing is so personal to me that I just can't deal with negative emotions generated by negative comments. I've been through enough in my short life. I deal with feelings of being stupid and inadequate every day. Emotionally, I'm like a spider web, I guess, it doesn't take much to wreck me.
Those of you who know me outside of BC can attest to that, I think.
I used to enjoy writing, and I hope to get that back someday soon. But until then, I'll just read and comment, I suppose. Just remember to be extra nice to people who write here. I know they try very hard and may not be the best, but who is. Enjoy the stories for what they are, and give words of encouragement when you can. If you can't, then saying nothing at all might be the best thing.
Love you all!
Comments
Bless you, dear!
I look forward to the day when your writing once more graces this site! Merry Christmas, BTW!
Love, Andrea Lena
Thank you!!
Merry Christmas to you too!!
Peace!
Cindilee
Life is like a bowl of Chillies
Some are good for you but you never know if the next one will send you running for the toilet.
This was told to me by a woman on a Greyhound Bus going across Texas in August 1975.
She's right. You have to learn to take the rough and the smooth, the brickbats and applause and get on with life.
Some comments and commenters are just silly. When they say that you should put this in, put that in, with reference to your story, why not turn it around and say, Ok, if you think you can do better then off you go....
Most of them will retreat into their shells and keep quiet.
My gran was a feisty woman. She'd been a member of the IRA during the 1916 Easter Uprising in Dublin. Even her daughter didn't know but her feistiness was with her to the end. Her last words to me were
"Don't let the Bastards grind you down. Kick them in the Balls. HARD"
LOL!
I've gotten a lot of good feedback, including yours. I've said before I know this stuff mentally, I just can't seem to get past it. And I've gotten past a lot worse. I don't understand it.
Peace!
Cindilee
How we feel...
…is how we feel. I used to attend a community drum circle, hosted by a shop that makes and sells hand-made drums and percussion instruments. Most of the people who came there were (and are) terrific, but there were those few spoilsports… Well, I did the best I could with it, but kicking one of them in some fragile place, either literally or figuratively, would likely have resulted in getting tossed out on my ear. When the negative experiences accumulated enough to kill the joy, I stopped going.
I miss it too, especially as that is the only circle that is reasonably accessible to me. Every time I think of going, though, the memories rise up again and just kill off the impulse.
We are not all of the same temperament, all of the same “stern stuff.” It is not usually a happy choice to pull back and stop participating, but we do what we must to take care of ourselves. I feel you, Cindilee. I feel the tears, too.
Edit: I just read the first part of Rachel. I think I will be here for a while. ;)