Member-only story
When Your Loved Ones Don’t Support Your Art
I am not a fan of all my work, so why should I hold it against my loved ones?
One thing that I have been struggling with since I started sharing my writing with the public, is going through my already published pieces. Whether they performed well or did not perform well, I just can’t bring myself to read my old work. A writer I respect recently told me it would help me a lot to go through my old pieces from time to time so I can learn from my mistakes. I have tried, but I would be lying if I tell you that I enjoyed rereading my old pieces. It’s torture. And it hasn’t helped me so far, I just end up doubting myself more and more and publishing less.
To be honest, I’d rather read the work of the writers I admire and learn from their work rather than reading my old pieces. Maybe I am overly critical with my work. But for me to continue writing and publishing, I have decided that over-analyzing my work is not helping me at all. I can only learn if I continue writing, publishing, and reading pieces that don’t make me want to quit already.
Just thinking about this made me wonder why we take it so personally when our loved ones do not support our work. Support meaning — reading, clapping, commenting, highlighting and sharing our work with others.
