Don’t Envy – Improve
A few years ago, when I finished Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin while doing the eleventythousandth revision of my own novel manuscript, I closed her book and looked at mine and thought, “Why bother?”
The bother is that I’ve got my own story to tell. It’s not Atwood’s story, or Melville’s or Twain’s, or even yours.
You’ve got your own story, too.
Because it’s your story, the issue isn’t whether you write as well as Hemingway or Fitzgerald or King or Roberts or anyone else whom you admire or sells bigger.
The issue is whether you can tell your story – whether you can honor it as it deserves. The only way to achieve that noble calling is to write it.
In terms of writing your story, you’re the only one who can do that.
In terms of honoring it, you’re the only one who can do that, too.
Instead of envying the way another writer tells and honors her story, focus on (1) respecting quality writers and (B) improving your own writing.
There are two ways – and only two ways – to improve. The 1st is to read. The Bth is to practice.
The daily practice of writing is a discipline as important and challenging as physical exercise. And, just as we often need some motivation to hit the gym, we often need some motivation to write.
This site is dedicated to delivering the motivation you need to write every day – to improve every day. You don’t need to bookmark this site and visit it every day. You don’t have to subscribe to receive daily, genre-specific emails. You don’t have to “Like” Prompt Inspiration on Facebook.
All you have to do is write.
2 Responses to “Don’t Envy – Improve”
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David B. Schlosser is an author of award-winning fiction and non-fiction, and an editor of award-winning fiction and non-fiction.
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Interesting piece of work, I enjoy your blog
I enjoyed your blog