Writing and Emotions

Writing can be hard, to say the least. Poetry, essays, short stories all have their own unique ways of being difficult to write. However, when you find that swooning line that fits perfectly into a poem, finally finish that masterpiece of an essay, or eventually come up with a great resounding end to a short story, the feeling is quite worth it.

But what about when you finish your writing piece, and the time comes to show it to someone to help you edit it? Essays are no problem, because everyone writes essays. They are objective, so if someone corrects you on rhetoric or tells you to further elaborate on the points you’re using to support your claim, it really is no big deal. Yet, when we encroach into the fields of poetry, short stories, and other works of fiction, it becomes a bit more difficult. But why is that?

Well, first, you must work up the confidence of showing someone your work in the first place. Some people, including myself, cannot take the eventual ridicule towards a piece of literary work that took weeks of time and creative effort to make (I know this hardly ever happens, but sure does feel like it sometimes). It really just comes down having the confidence of showing someone your work, but for some reason fictional literary works leave us vulnerable when we show someone. This is because the creative process is delicate and powered by emotion. I can’t really give you a definite answer as to why that is, and I honestly can’t even say if it’s accurate. I’m just going off personal experience, and what I feel sounds right. With all that aside, after you finally had some critique, edit, and make sure your work of fiction is impeccable, now comes to the task of publishing it.

Let me just preface this by saying: I have never had anything published before. However, I do know a little bit about the publishing process. All I can really say is that it takes a long time. This is sort of the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to writing, because unlike the emotional strain that having works of fiction critiqued has; the publishing process wears you out, due to how long and strenuous it could be. Weeks of getting your work sent back, because there needs to be more edits can be demoralizing, but I’m sure that finally getting it published feels very similar to finishing a work of literature and having some critique it and enjoy it. So, in short, it is worth it, or at least I would assume so.

It may seem like I don’t really know what I’m talking about, which is true to some extent, but I can confidently say that writing is difficult and will remain difficult. The same can be said for any work that requires some sort of creative process, though. In the end, it takes a special kind of sadistic person to keep writing knowing what emotional and physical strain can come with it.