*WOD=Writer's Occasional Diary
I was feeling so pleased yesterday. Into a new (revised) chapter—a brand new start in medies res. I'd done some research and made a decision. And I'd typed up a quick blog post.
And then it came. The crash. The rest of the day I was good for nothing and very grumpy.
Well, I'm used to this. It's just me living my life.
But, yesterday, I could identify a specific reason: Exposure.
What is exposure? You feel:
- Naked
- Stupid
Here I was blogging about my writing process as if anyone's really interested, when I'm not even published. And blogging about my new chapter, which might stay unfinished for too long.
And everyone will think I'm just a fraud.
Welcome to life as a writer!
Well-trained writers know that you can be a bona fide writer even if you've never been published. But you can't always make yourself feel like a real writer, especially if you're cut off from a writing community. [I'm sure there must be some writers here in Luxor. I'll find them, one of these days.]
And it's stressful putting yourself out there on public display. Unless you're Snookie or one of the Kardashians, I guess.
Helen, a college roommate of mine, did some research on a Russian poet called Tyutchev. He burned a vast number of his poems. Too revealing. And we all know that novels also expose the author's guts to the whole world.
Well, the blog is good exposure practice. Because, in theory, exposure is a good thing. We want exposure. We want to be published. And do author appearances, and interviews, and all that stuff.
It's all terrifying. It's all stressful. And it's all part of being a writer.
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