Are You Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?

Do you ever find yourself utterly dizzy reading what you’ve written, or even the work of a fellow writer? If so, welcome to the club!

I have been editing for a client for three days now. At the rate I’m going, I will be done next week. All I will say about it is that the story is very good and I’d buy it. It’s nice to work on something I’d never write, but that I’m highly knowledgeable about. (Special thanks to the New York City Public Education system for always telling me, year after year, that I should be a police detective. Higher honors and thanks to the NYPD for all my forensics knowledge.) I never know how my brain works, until someone presents me with a question or ideas and suddenly, out of nowhere, the answers come flying out of my mouth. It’s a little scary. The fact that I know some of this stuff is probably the reason I DVR’d “How To Get Away With Murder” last night. Did anyone else see it?

Here’s something that bothers me: You take all kinds of shit as a writer. Criticism and stupid comments are the least of my concerns. Over time, you realize that a lot of the catty comments that get sent in your direction are actually jealousy manifesting itself. You start seeing people distance themselves from you, and it all comes down to one thing: No one likes knowing that someone else is better than they are at something. I have no idea why people cannot be supportive, why they can’t just be happy for you, or why they have to be so competitive. There is room in this world, both physically and literally, for all of us. IKEA, Target, and Walmart can always make more bookshelves, so please don’t compete with every writer you know, just “do you”. That means, write what you know and write it well, and then take it out into the universe and sell that motherfucker for all it is worth.

In turn, you’ll be able to answer the age old question: Are you working hard, or hardly working?

One thought on “Are You Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?”

Hi Lisa, great post! The title was a bit misleading, but I think you’re really on to something in your third paragraph. There’s room for all of us in the world of writing and creativity. Someone else’s success does not undermine yours and your success does not undermine others.

And besides that – is success the only quantifiable measure by which we should judge or give value to our work – or will that leave us devastated when we feel we haven’t made it or receive criticism? There is a wonderful world of creative people who make things for the love of it – and to the people who constantly criticize and compare – I guess I’d ask, why are you doing it? Or why, are you not doing it (criticizing instead of creating)? Or why does it matter what other people – who are not you – are doing (if they’re not hurting anyone)?

There’s room for all types. And that’s what makes bookstores and our lives richer. Thanks for the thoughtful post. x

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leighhecking says:

2017-04-22 at 10:14 AM

Hi Lisa, great post! The title was a bit misleading, but I think you’re really on to something in your third paragraph. There’s room for all of us in the world of writing and creativity. Someone else’s success does not undermine yours and your success does not undermine others.

And besides that – is success the only quantifiable measure by which we should judge or give value to our work – or will that leave us devastated when we feel we haven’t made it or receive criticism? There is a wonderful world of creative people who make things for the love of it – and to the people who constantly criticize and compare – I guess I’d ask, why are you doing it? Or why, are you not doing it (criticizing instead of creating)? Or why does it matter what other people – who are not you – are doing (if they’re not hurting anyone)?

There’s room for all types. And that’s what makes bookstores and our lives richer. Thanks for the thoughtful post. x

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