Hilarious that I decided to pick this month to blog about excuses that keep me from writing considering I’ve got a mountain of excuses keeping me from blogging. All pretty legit too, if I do say so myself. Just call me Lindsey Vonn – the mountain’s proving too much for me. (I’ll admit, I just caught a Yahoo News headline about Vonn’s slalom mishap…it’s pretty rare that I can throw around skiing references. Sidenote: “slalom” is such a fun word to say.)
Anyway, I’m giving it a go this evening, and here’s hoping from here on out my consistency sees some improvement!
So, one of the excuses that sometimes tempts me to forget the whole “I’m going to write a book!” thing is when I get to comparing myself to others. Aghh, the Voice of Comparison in my head just loves to throw out zingers:
-Your plot is mac ‘n’ cheese to So-And-So’s elaborate gourmet creation…
-Face it, you might have a nice story, but your platform is zilch compared to [insert best-selling author of choice]…
-You think your characters are fun? No chance they’re as good as Mr./Ms. Amazing Author’s hilarious, three-dimensional and totally personable characters…
-You simply don’t have an interesting personal story. All the cool authors grew up in the jungle or survived a life-threatening experience or at least got their master’s degree!
And that’s just in the area of writing. The Comparison Monster likes to attack in all realms of life:
-Your car’s not as cool as his…
-H/She was able to buy a house and leave apartment-living behind years ago…
-If only your hair was as pretty as hers…
-What, you haven’t married or had kids yet??
What do you do with stuff like that? I mean, that kind of voice in a person’s head is pretty destructive if left to thrive…it’s got the potential to kill a dream.
But it’s not killing mine!
Thing is, I’m incredibly, incredibly blessed in that I’ve got so many positive influences in my life, so many people who love me, who care about my dreams and who are intentional about encouraging me. They remind me that comparing myself to others is just plain silly. Pointless. Why? ‘Cause I’m not “the others.” I’m me…unique…with my own voice…my own dream…my own writing style…my own story…
I’m not Ted Dekker.
I’m not Susan May Warren (whose latest book, by the way – “Sons of Thunder” – is one of the best I’ve read in a long time!!).
I’m not any of the wonderful authors whose books fill up my shelves.
I’m just…Melissa Tagg. And sure, this kid’s got plenty to learn! And I’m all about learning from the experts. But in the end, the only person I want to compare myself is to…me. Is the writing I’m doing today better than what I did a couple years ago, a couple months ago? If I keep working at it – and don’t let some comparison urge keep me from moving forward – the answer should be “yes.”
*****
I had the most amazing time in Florida last weekend at the MBT Deep Thinkers Retreat. I so highly, highly recommend My Book Therapy to anyone working on a novel. And the retreat…oh so fun!! Here’s one of my favorite photos of the group…
