100 Things You Should Know About Writing (Part 3)

54) How to Deal with Non-Writers

Yes, yes, I know. I promised that this would be a book about writing technique, but I keep coming back to how to survive being a writer. 

I'm sorry. (Sort of.) Next time I promise I'll deliver some technique-y goodness to dig your teeth into. Before I get into that, though, I want to talk to your guys about Non-Writers. 

See, all writers I've ever encountered are sensitive creatures riddled with doubts and insecurities that could cripple them at any moment. (I've written about doubts and insecurities already. (Part 2, Section 29)) It's hard enough for us to deal with our own voices of doubt when we write. But for every shovel of doubt we manage to clear out of our writing space, there'll always be a few non-writers ready with a bulldozer to bring it all back.

You know the guy. 

"Oh come on, writing isn't that hard." 

"So, what do you really going to do with your life?" 

"Not exactly planning to change the world, are you?" 

"Seriously. If you're not going to get published, there isn't a point." 

"You make how much from royalties?" 

There will always be people who try to make you feel like a waste of space for wanting to write. The sad thing is that often the ones who hurt the most are the ones you expected to back you up. Your best friend. Your boyfriend/girlfriend. Your parents. 

The truth is that we live in a world where creative activities are seen as inferior. So people either assume creatives are useless lay-abouts, or they're worried that people engaged in creative activities will turn into useless lay-abouts who aren't able to get their work to support themselves. 

Loved ones especially tend to worry about this. They want us to succeed. (If they don't, you really don't need that sort of negativity in your life. So ignore it.) The problem is this: 

Make no mistake. The odds of making a success out of a creative career is minuscule. On top of that, non-writers' understanding of writing success is a bit warped. 

If you're a writer, I'd say success is making enough to make a living, while selling enough to keep generating interest in your new books so that your living is sustained for as long as you write. It's not really glamorous, but the reality is that becoming a best-seller has about the same odds as winning a lottery ticket. 

Yet this lottery win is the only measure of success that non-writers seem to understand. And anything under that seems to them to be insignificant and meaningless. So. 

Unless your name is J.K. Rowling, Jeffrey Deaver, Marissa Meyer or any of those shining stars... people will assume that you're screwing around instead of actually trying to make a living. 

So. Now that we all understand where non-writers come from, how do we deal with their negativity? 

I think everyone has their own way of dealing, but since I'm the person writing this, I'll share my own recipe. 

1) Imagine taking a shovel to the non-writer's face. 

Ooh you thought I was going to start off with being lovey-dovey and nice about it? No. Most of the time, non-writers aren't being lovey-dovey about being assholes, so we're all perfectly justified in being pissed off at them for it. 

2) Since murder and assault is illegal, resort to sarcasm. 

If people are being rude, ask them when the last time was that they did something that gave meaning to their lives. (Assuming that writing adds meaning to your life.) 

Also, if they're being disparaging because they think writing is easy, ask to read the book they wrote. (Oh yeah oops. They didn't.) 

If someone says that they could write a book in no time, tell them to write one within a year. (If they don't, they'll shut up. If they do, they'll see that it turned out not to be a walk in the park, so they'll shut up. Either way you win.)

3) Ignore them, remembering at all times that if you do become a bestseller, they will be the people who always knew you could do it. 

No really. People are assholes. They don't like supporting people until people no longer need their support. 

It's nothing personal. 

But neither should it stop you from writing anyway. 

Which brings me to the next point: 

4) Write anyway. 

I'm not saying that you should turn into a lay-about sponging off other people so you can write. (Although, if you have someone financially supporting you while you write your book, you are so lucky!) 

But. 

You need to decide whether you're serious about writing or not. If you are, you're going to have to act like you're serious about writing. In other words. You're going to have to write. You're going to have to devote yourself to becoming the best writer you can be. 

You're going to have to approach your writing like it's a second job. (Or your job, if you don't have a day-job.) 

Oh no! the masses roar. Not a job. Writing is my passion! Writing shouldn't ever become a chore. 

Well, imaginary masses in my mind, happiness lies in turning your passion into your day-job so you can do it every day and making money from it, so you don't have to get stuck in a job you hate. 

At any rate, if you had a boss telling you to write, an encounter with a clueless non-writer wouldn't stop you from doing your job, right? Right? 

Now. Remind yourself that you're the boss. And then tell yourself that an encounter with a clueless non-writer isn't going to stop you from writing. 

And then, write the clueless person into your story and kill the character off. This is known as catharsis. It's extra beneficial in that it won't land you in jail. 

How do you deal with non-writers trying to get you down? Let me know in the comments. 

Also, feel free to ask me any questions about this section or writing in general. I answer in the comments, and if your question inspires me to write a new section, I'll dedicate that section to you. 

Thanks for reading!

Coming up in 100 Things: 

Revision Advice

Editing Advice

Copyediting Advice

Proofreading Advice