I have discussed before that writing is a lonely profession. That's why it's befuddling when some writers dismiss other writers so easily. There are wonderfully open and kind writers out there. There are also writers that seem to think my agentless, unpublished, no MFA degree ass is unworthy of their time and attention.
Golly gee. You sure do look mighty special, standing in the thick of the published heap.
The fuck you do. Regardless if someone has published thirty books, one, or none, the only thing that separates us is us. Bestseller lists, BookScan, Amazon, reviews, etc. separates our work, but that's as far as it goes. What writers think about other writers is what keeps us from being kind to one another, especially when one writer thinks their merit is better than another's.
Writers drink different cups of tea. Writers are vulnerable. Writers struggle and succeed. When you do away with genres, styles, blurbs, agents, publishers, etc., we're all the same. Characters come to us and we can't deny them their stories. When someone can't recognize that in me, the smartass in me wants to tell them to go play in an oven, but the writer in me wants to lift them up even higher.
I can't help it. We're teammates even if I am, currently, only the water girl.
This makes me think of poet Rainer Maria Rilke, who in his book Letters to a Young Poet says to an up-and-coming poet `Don't ask me if you're a writer. Because I say, `If all you can think of in the morning when you get up is writing, then you're a writer.' -- Kelcey you are FAR from a water girl...you ARE a writer.
ReplyDeleteProfessionaly speaking, I'm still a water girl. If/when publication happens, I should get bumped up to the jv squad.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kerri, for your kind words and support! If you're free this weekend, I could use some help washing towels and water bottles.