Who am I kidding?
What was I thinking?
My writing is not unique.
It is barely interesting.
I have nothing to say that hasn't been said a million times before.
I have no burning stories to tell.
I've tried writing and I suck at it and should take up something else. I just don't know what that "else" is.
I'm at a crossroads, I forgot to buy a map and my GPS is broke.
(Poor, poor pitiful me.)
P.S. - Congratulations to Alex J. Cavanaugh on the second anniversary of his Insecure Writers Support Group! Two whole years of encouraging writers who, by nature, are insecure. You're doing a great service to the world, Alex. Thank you!
So your GPS broke, too? I was wondering what all that cursing and swearing was because it was not, "left turn, ahead." lol!
ReplyDeleteheheheheheh... you're funny, Mizz Brown.
DeleteOh poor poor pitiful both of us. Writers are a breed of lost souls at the best of times and you without a GPS yikes you are really lost:) B
ReplyDeleteWe should form a support group, Buttons.. oh wait... that's what this is all about... lol!
Deleteunfortunately, insecurities cross all boundaries.
ReplyDeleteAnd who needs a GPS. Think of everything we'll miss if we only stick to the 'approved' roads.
You're the only one who can tell your stories. If you don't, no one will. :)
ReplyDeleteTrue dat.
DeleteGPS blah use a good old fashioned paper map more adventure that way lol ! More like a nut job support group for me ha ha ! No, really on the serious side of things here ... heck who am I kidding nothing serious about writing to me at all lol . I love writing even if it don't make no sense to anyone else lol it gets all my tension and frustrations out.. not that I have a lot mind you hehe , on paper.. yes I said paper.. ya all remember the old way of doing it pen to paper please tell me you do ! a journal I have kept for over 35 years good juicy stuff that could be in a book ha ha thank fully no one reads it and not to be put out on the world wide web lol . Kidding boring it would be ya want a sleep aid, read my Journal ... I think writing comes from the heart good or bad ! Great post ! Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteheheh... thanks!
DeleteYou do not suck! Your writing is funny and very entertaining. I will never forget your drive-in 'boobies' story. Ever.
ReplyDeleteI think I peaked at drive-in boobies.... !!!! How sad is THAT? heheh
DeleteI wish I had that wardrobe back. Well, some of it, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI doubt your GPS is broke; it's just that the last Google maps upgrade took the blue navigation button away. Not kidding. I had to rename mine Helyn; my sister-in-law who cannot read a map and thinks a two door car has two doors on one side.
So, pitiful you, keep up on the Book of Cathy and wait for the doldrums to end.
You mean Linda Ronstadt's wardrobe? Yeah.... boy she was a beauty.
DeleteI LOVE your writing!!!! You make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteWell we're even because you make me laugh, too.
DeleteUh...there are no secure writers.
ReplyDeleteThat is all.
Except for, your writing is you and that is one of kind....and glorious.
I'm secure sometimes, especially when I fool myself.
DeleteTake care, Cathy. You were talking the other day about being exhausted or mind-fogged. That's not a place to judge yourself. You've got passion and we all know it.
Ah you guys.... hugs to you both.
DeleteHiss and bloody spit. As I have said elsewhere on an ISWG post, you have talent oozing from every pore and orifice. You are a writer. You are also human. Which means that you can't do everything, perfectly, at the speed of light. While simultaneously saving the world.
ReplyDeleteKeep on being yourself - which means WRITING. And then writing some more. You are just not allowed to let us readers down. So there.
See, that's the problem. I'm not writing, mainly because I don't think I'm very good at it.
DeleteOh Cathy. You are hurting my heart. Mediocre you are not. Ok, some friends dented your ego (and which of us - writer or not, hasn't had that happen). Stop a bit. Lots of us are here cheering you on saying your writing is most excellent - and you choose to believe the negatives. Which is human. But not productive.
DeleteHugs to you - and I really, really hope that you can find a way forward again. I will be cheering you on. The first faltering steps, then the strides...
I love Cathy's writing. Gotta say though that "talent oozing from every pore and orifice" sounds... icky. That's not to say it is inaccurate, I think Cathy is often icky. Keep up the icky work, Cathy!
DeleteYou share your thoughts and ideas with us and that makes you (are you ready for this?) a WRITER. Keep at it.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, poor poor pitiful Linda R. She has Parkinsons and can't sing anymore.
I know - I'm upset about Linda Ronstadt, too. Poor thing. She was my absolute hero growing up. I saw her perform at Maple Leaf Gardens... she was wearing short shorts and Daryl Sittler's Maple Leaf jersey and she brought the house down. She could sing like nobody else.
DeleteWell, fudge! I posted a nice, long response and it isn't here!
ReplyDeleteI assume your question (in the title) is rhetorical, 'cause you're a very entertaining and enjoyable writer (and not all laughs, either).
Oh, I see! I didn't activate the #$%! Captcha! Now I have. (Can you do a post about that??? I'll read and enjoy it!)
Diana at About Myself By Myself
Did you say fudge? Mmmmmmmm....
DeleteWhat the hell's a GPS? Who needs stinkin' directions? (Ask any man that question - I dare ya) You write just fine, Mizz Cathy of the Cold Water and I love your humor. Go ahead, try to dispute my words...I'll send Jezebel to fix your breakfast!
ReplyDeleteDid you just say what the hell's a GPS? River, darling, you also didn't know about Miley Cyrus and her twerking!!! We need to get you out more!
DeleteScrew the GPS. "Bossy bitch in the box" is what my dad called it. You are your own guide, your own navigator...you will make this life what you want it to be. And who cares if you're a real writer. If you can produce something a single soul finds interesting (and you do!) then you are a writer.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth. I'm just a lot disillusioned right now. If I could use one word to describe my life it would be mediocre and my writing is exactly that.
DeleteTossing the bull crap card on that Cathy. I read your blog (even if I don't comment...that one about the gyno and your son wearing the costume to school...wonderful stuff!) and you take the mediocrity of life and make it fun. You have mad talent lady. Honestly...you make me jealous. I follow your blog without even following the rule of you come to mine and I come to yours...just because I enjoy it. That's a rare and envious thing.
DeleteI love these pity parties, because ALL of us writers feel insecure (at times) and there's nothing better to get our butts in the chairs than a good ol' w(h)ine session. :)
ReplyDeleteYou know you're good. So do I. Pray tell--what catalyzed the insecurity? The best cure is revenge: just keep writing. Peace...
I don't know I'm good. I only know I am mediocre, at best. Boring and common at worst. When I sent my manuscript around to friends a while back I got some really honest reviews that took the wind out of my sails and made me question if writing was something I was meant to do. I am feeling sorry for myself, to be sure, but I'm also being honest. Plus, I'm not writing at the moment. Haven't written anything substantial since the wind left the sails... so I can't even by rights call myself a writer, when I'm not doing it. Sigh.
DeleteI've got mixed feelings reading all of this. A part of me wants to say, If there's one thing you're not, it's mediocre. I mean that. But at the same time it's hard to give encouragement when I'm feeling so low myself. I like my writing. But you can only hear NO so many times before you begin to wonder if you're delusional. Am I just not able to see my faults? But I keep writing anyway, and you may as well too. Sorry, that's the best I got right now.
DeleteMy advice is to act as woody alen
ReplyDeleteListen Cold Lake Cathy, get over it! You KNOW your writing is AWESOME! Sure, even geniuses like you can question themselves occasionally, but seriously, if I could write half as well as you, I'd be out on the lake doing donuts or whatever you call it on the water!
ReplyDeletePS...a long time since I've visited. How is the novel going? Or shouldn't I ask.
Denise
See how many came to your pity party! All those comments and you have Captcha Codes turned on! Good grief my lady. Turn 'em off! Now I gotta do this twice!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe all use the same words, it's just a question of how we shuffle (muddle) them around that matters.
ReplyDeleteLove your new header picture!
Writing is a lot of things. You're you and nobody can write you like you do.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm singing a song.
Lee
Wrote By Rote
To be a writer is to have questions about how people will respond. Yes, there's a fair degree of insecurity in that — putting your heart out there and risking that it gets trampled.
ReplyDeleteI like your writing, Cathy. It is earthy and evocative. And fun.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Just find something really high to climb and have a gander. See if you can figure out where to go! /nothelpful
ReplyDeleteBest of luck!
I don't know why this is only just now popping onto my feed, but it's only just now popping onto my feed.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you need a mountain (but you really have to read my post to get that).
I'm not going to make a value judgement about your writing. What I am going to say is that you don't need to be "good" or, frequently, even mediocre to be successful as a writer. All you have to do is look around at some of the best sellers to see that people that are, in fact, "not good" are quite successful. So worrying about how good you are isn't really the thing to do, I think.
Well then it's time to get off the proverbial map and go where you like. You'll get there.
ReplyDeleteThe writing is the good part - it is the publishing I can't deal with.
ReplyDeletethe Ol'Buzzard