by Peggy Bechko
We’re writers. Mostly. And over the years we’ve toughened our hides to all kinds of criticism and rejection, right?
Well mostly.
Sort of.
Anyway, you get the drift. Even if you’re not a writer no doubt you can sympathize in this brave new world of the internet where jerks, trolls and idiots abound, rubbing shoulders with other folk just out there to make friends, make a living or have fun.
I mean in the past writers merely had to put up with mean editors, cruel script readers and nasty critics (once the work was published or produced). It was simply a part of life and any writer who was serious adapted and accepted.
Now the world of nastiness has broadened out considerably. If you work the social media, making friends, posting blogs, generally putting your work out there, you run the risk of running into all kinds of mean-spirited critics (legitimate and not so much), vicious comment trolls (you know, those people who get a kick out of trying to make other people feel bad about themselves, their accomplishments and their abilities) and an assortment of other flat out jerks who populate the web along with the good folk.
So what is there to do when those outside forces make a writer like you feel angry, insecure, helpless, depressed and incompetent – or worse?
Write.
Keep writing.
Write every day. Create. Doesn’t matter if you feel mad or insecure, sad, frustrated or depressed . Just write and keep writing. If you’ve allowed the crazy nasties to make you feel depressed and like no appreciates your writing or even cares about you, then write.
The temptation is great to sit there and simmer. To spend precious writing time trying to think of the perfect come-back for people who just want to hurt and probably haven’t created anything in their lives.
Don’t.
Just don’t. Take a minute and go to that Facebook page or that blog post or web page or whatever with the truly bad comment or vicious attack and simply delete the comment. You can do it. You’re the administrator of the page. Why leave it up there to eat at you? Delete it. Do it now, I’ll wait.
Now write.
Really, who are these people and why should you care? You’re a writer, so write. You don’t know them, they don’t know you. It shouldn’t matter to you what they said or what their motivation was when they said it. Legitimate, thoughtful criticism or comments are one thing, a troll attack is another. If, in their heated flailings, they try to convince you you’re not a real writer, then write. Emotions, any emotions, can fuel your writing. In fact many times probably does.
Control of your life is really up to you. Interact with people who are sensible and reasonable. They don’t have to love everything you write. That’s okay. But you don’t have to tolerate out and out unfounded attacks.
Delete and block.
That’s all I have to say on the matter.
Now get back to work and write.
Peggy Bechko is a Contributing Editor to TVWriter™. You can learn more about her HERE.