Don't Compare
Don't compare yourself to others. This is excellent advice and one of those "do as I say not as I do" deals.
But you are unique. Your way of telling a story is incredibly valuable. Don't think you should do it like someone else, simpler or twistier, or more lyrical, or whatever.
You bring yourself to the story, and that is what matters most.
Cherish your unique voice today.
Robin
But you are unique. Your way of telling a story is incredibly valuable. Don't think you should do it like someone else, simpler or twistier, or more lyrical, or whatever.
You bring yourself to the story, and that is what matters most.
Cherish your unique voice today.
Robin
posted by FantasyAuthor RobinDOwens | 12:17 AM
4 Comments:
Oh, I'm terrible at this one. I just finished Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys, closed the book, and thought, "Why bother writing anymore? I'll never be THAT good." The feeling faded after a few hours, but it was still very humbling.
It happens most often with authors we identify with. Right before Gaiman I read a book by Margaret Atwood (Cat's Eye) that was painfully beautiful, but I didn't have that same feeling, because she's nothing like what I want to be (the day I stopped trying to write like Margaret Atwood was the day I found my real voice).
Your voice IS unique, Robin, and we love it!
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Robin D Owens said...
Thanks, Jeri. I was actually reading Eyes of Crow and thinking "why isn't my worldbuilding more SIMPLE AND ELEGANT AND SEAMLESS like Jeri's?"
Just finished Gail Dayton's Eternal Rose (for cover quote) and it is incredibly AWESOME!
Robin
Oh all three of you author's are FABOO! Come on now!!!
I have a girlfriend in NJ who can sit down and vomit the most beautiful paragraphs. She writes so completely that I swear, it needs barely any revisions. It congeals in her mind and splat! it goes down on the page.
THAT is what I am jealous of.
I could never write a world like Celta and Llandrana with even half the rich details that you provide, Robin. Jeri? Her writing evokes so much emotion it leaves me both crying and breathless. Gail? I am still scratching my head trying to figure out how she got me to love all the characters in her Ilia.
I try not to get intimidated. Better yet, I try to aspire to be be like, not write like, my favorite authors--creative, unique, and fabulous.
Therein, lies the difference.
moon (stepping off her soapbox and taking it with her to the next blog site. ;)
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