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Delaware, United States
Deborah Hawkins, penned Debra Renée Byrd, began writing after a blank book project in elementary school and never stopped, fashioning stories based on her favorite TV shows and movies before creating more original works. She studied at the University of the Arts and Florida State University before settling down and graduating from Temple University. She now resides in her hometown of Dover, DE, where she spends most of her time at work or at church. She loves fantasies, superheroes, is a trekkie and a brown coat. She loves television and lives for Final Fantasy video games, having collected most of them. She has read a myriad of authors, and her favorite authors change whenever she finds a new book that changes her life... "When you can't run, you crawl. When you can't crawl...well, you know the rest." -Tracey, Firefly, "The Message"

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Friday, June 27, 2014

Friday Freeday: Love Yourself!

Happy Friday!

I was thinking about this today, and another day possibly Sunday. There was a scripture, so it must've been Sunday, about loving others as you love yourself.

My immediate thought was: "But some people don't love themselves, so they can't love others."

And this is recurring problem for me as a writer, and I feel other writers go through this as well. Sometimes, we absolutely HATE ourselves when it comes to our own work. I've gone through many bouts of self-hate and seclusion when I received a harsh critique, especially once I realized it was right. I've had those moments where I thought I'll never make it and my writing isn't as good as I thought. I've also had moments where I thought, "That got published?!" Partially because I thought I could do better, partially because I didn't do better.

And you know what? Most likely, I'll do it again.

BUT, I and you who do it too must remember to try to love yourself and your writing more than you hate it. Remember why you started writing in the first place, remember someone (even if it was your mom) loved it, and someone (probably not your mom) loved it for more valid reasons than your mom because she has to.

Remember that YOU loved it, and compliment yourself on what you've accomplished. Some people will never put pen to paper. Give yourself a pat on the back for doing at least that.

5 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Well said! Fortunately I rarely hate my writing, it just irks me sometimes.

Sarah Foster said...

Good advice! I'll have those moments when I hate my writing, but they usually pass. Or I just focus on editing everything I hate!

Heather R. Holden said...

I have the lowest self-esteem ever when it comes to my art, especially lately. Being able to love my work seems mind-boggling, haha. Hope you're able to be more successful at this with your writing!

J Lenni Dorner said...

Excellent tip. :)
Yeah, I see some random-celebrity-of-the-moment with a book deal and likewise question how that got published... oh right, connections!
I tend to love my writing, but hate my ..... can you guess??.... query, yup. LOL. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for tweeting it out with me. It means a great deal. Who knows, maybe the answers will come as a result. I'd owe you a shoutout in a book dedication. ;)

Anonymous said...

Aw, yay! lol You're welcome! If I never pass on what I've learned, I wouldn't be worth much. lol