The Pallid Balance: Inane Madness from "Author" Ambrose Grimm

The Reality of Writing

Dear (YOU),

Abstract vagueness is a problem that all new writers face when they are still learning how to express themselves in fiction, so don't think this is a personal problem that only affects you.  All great writers faced this problem at some point, just like all experienced drivers first had to learn to use the gas and brake pedals.  Step by step.  That's the process.  My advice is to write something else as an exercise, trying to be as clear as humanly possible, and then come back to this story.  Identifying clearly what you want to say, and finding a way to clearly communicate it, should be your writing goal for now.

(EDITOR)

This is the reality for almost all of us. It doesn't even matter if you've one-hundred prior published works, or one-thousand.

Rejection is a part of writing.

The real challenge is your waking up to this reality. You post a story here on wattpad, and barring those Godforsaken one (1) liner comments, your work is assaulted from all angles. People trash your style, and assault your prose.

You're offended, right? Some half-naked chick posts some stupid lame selfies with random complaints, and she calls them rants - rants! - and she has over one million followers. Her every comment is a compliment (mostly on what she looks like - but that was her intention all along).

You're feeling rejected, dejected, your feelings are hurt, and you're about ready to quit.

Well, buck the fuck up, buttercup. Or quit. I don't care - no one on wattpad will care - and no publisher in the entire world will care.

...because this is a business, no matter how much you want it to be personal. Nothing anyone on wattpad can say to you will make or break your career, but if you quit here, you may as fucking well give up forever, because these publishers, man, they're sharks. If you're bleeding, they'll eat your ass up, and won't think twice of it.

So what do you do?

Barring those losers with only one (1)-line comments, anything anyone here says, unless they're Stephen King, Anne  Rice, J.K. Rowling, or someone relevant, such as an actual publisher, anything disparaging that anyone on this site says is just some fucktard without a clue.

People are going to try to tear you down, either because your work actually is shit... or it's good enough that people feel threatened.

There's enough bad authors who are published to know to heart that anyone with enough time, and patience can publish traditionally. If you're a good writer, but you're thinned skinned, quit now.

The reality is that writing is brutal.

Brutal.

It gets really old reading people bitching about mean reviews. When you post, and go live, you forfeit any reasonable expectation of privacy.

Toughen up, or professionally speaking, you will not survive.