My roommate and I were just talking about this, so I apologize, but I am going to go ahead and give out some UNSOLICITED ADVICE.
New writers (or old writers or any writers, really, but especially the new ones):
Please know that every. single. writer. in the history of time and space has, at MORE than one point, sat back, thought about what they just wrote, stared at the screen for a long time, and said to themselves:
Dear god above, This. Is. Stupid.
Sometimes it comes early on. You’re only a couple thousand words in and you’re like: Wait, what is this? This will never work. Gotta scrap this one. No good. No, sir. Maybe my next idea will be better. I’ll move on to that. Or, no, no I’m never going to be a writer. I’ll leave it for someone else. I’m done.
Sometimes it comes in the middle, when you realize that you ARE in the middle and suddenly your beginning is horrifically boring and your ending doesn’t matter and holy shit, this is terrible.
And, sometimes, it’s right at the end. When you’re almost done and it’s 24k and you’ve been nonstop writing for THREE DAYS (or worse, six months) and your hands literally hurt - like stabbing pains up your arms hurt - and you suddenly realize that this ENTIRE fic is the worst thing to ever happen to literature. It’s too long and too jumpy and switches styles at random and that is three days of your life you’re never going to get back. You look at it and think- what am i doing right now?
Also, more bad news, this moment might happen MORE THAN ONCE. Hell, it might even happen when you’ve already posted it and people seem to like it.
I don’t know why this happens. But, rest assured, every single fic or story or poem or song, you are going to have this moment. And it’s going to seem like this is a clarifying moment. Like the rest of the time you’ve been kidding yourself and THIS is when you can finally see the truth. That you are not a good writer and this is not a good story and this is a waste of time.
Here is my message to you: THIS MOMENT IS NOT TRUE. It is not some secret you’ve been keeping from yourself. It is not your moment of clarity. It is not a divine message from above that you are wasting your time. IT IS NOT TRUE.
Don’t let it beat you. Don’t stop writing. Don’t be afraid to write. Don’t be afraid to post. Push forward and write what you love and your. work. is. not. stupid.
Your. Work. Is. Not. Stupid.
It’s just a moment. And fuck that moment.