To write or not to write..that is the question..

To write or not to write, that is the question..ok, so I am riffing Shakespeare; but who better to riff than the bard himself, who I am quite sure ran into the inevitable, 'your title sucks', or 'that really is a stupid line'.

I wonder how he would handle it?

If he had a blog, I am guessing he would actually write about it - just put it out there, as a form of therapy I suppose. So, here I am, in therapy!

Writing is a difficult process, no matter how talented you are or how easy you claim it comes to you; it is a tortured process, you leave a little bit of yourself in each tale you tell. The characters are you, friends of yours, loves of yours and even enemies of yours. They are little bits and pieces of your psyche rolled into one personality or the next. They are your experiences, past, present as well as future; there are times when they become the very fabric of how you feel.

Personally, I am very open to criticism. I like the feedback, why else would I put it out there in print for all to see? It's why I published a short chapter right here on my site - as a way to get it out there, no doubt, but also as a way to invite criticism. Granted, some criticism is better than others. There are times when those that I love offer their 'it's the best thing I ever read' and I take it with a grain of salt. After all, aren't they supposed to say that because they love and support me? Then there are my casual friends - friends I may have known for years, they will provide sometime brutal insight. And while that is ok, I often feel stung by it; there is no logic to it, I just do; it feels somehow too personal of an attack.

Then there are those whom I love the most in this world. While this criticism can often be brutal, it is honest because they know me, they know what I have put into the process and they trust that I will handle it properly.

That is the criticism I cherish the most. Why you may ask? Because they do so with love. Love not only for me, but for the process I am undertaking. They are there when I don't have the energy to write any more or when I hit a stumbling block; they are there to remind me that they haven't had any pages to read in some time 'what's up with that?'; and they are there to remind me that the 'title sucks'.  So for that - I thank you!

While I may be a little to strung out or tired from starting a new, more demanding job far from home, and writing multiple business plans; it is these critics that I push to write for, push to complete this long labor of my soul! So, watch this blog in the next few days for another preview chapter. I am dedicating myself to TRY and complete the novel by the end of this month, to be published by the end of the summer.

Who knows, it just might happen; Shakespeare would say: 

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well. It were done quickly. (Translated: it would be best to get it done and over with quickly!)