Having some difficulty

[Fifth_Column_Media]

I'm new to the online community of writing and I will say very bluntly that I am not a writer. I simply write as honestly as I can and leave it at that. So far my publication online has been growing pretty well, but I've encountered my first bit of resistance from some people who seem more wrapped up in labels, titles and being correct, than the actual merit of a project or idea.

Has anyone else encountered this?

I'm an artist by trade, so I'm used to critique, but it just seems like some people cannot look past the tiniest thing to see what you're really saying. I don't know, I'm sure tomorrow I won't even think about it anymore.

I don't know why I'm bothered as it really shouldn't effect me at all...they're entitled to their opinion just as much as I am, and I remember reading a bit from Steve about people trolling forums and comments just to be critical, and how we shouldn't worry about them, but it's on my mind right now so I thought I'd get everyone's opinion.

Why are people like that? Seems so pointless.

Thanks in advance for settling my nerves.

[aphro]

I've decided that I want to put stuff out there that might benefit other people. In part I have to remember my motives. I'm not doing it to impress people, or have them like me, I'm doing it to share my thoughts, ideas, and insights. In a way I have to remind myself that I am writing for me, and just sharing it with the world. If I start trying to please or write for an audience, I lose myself. So I remember that I am writing as a form of self expression, and focus on expressing and not what others will think of it.

[Shaden]

Aphro I completely agree with you. The best way to help yourself is to help other people. That raises your compassion and understanding of other people. If you're an objectivist this increases your sense of self-worth. If you're a subjectivist this increases consciousness as a whole. It doesn't really matter what your beliefs are - helping others is universally beneficial in all systems.

[RT Wolf]

One theory for why they're like that that I've heard is that we were trained as children to pick up on little mistakes. Remember those marks you lost cause you forgot to show a step? We're trained to look at the minutae a lot of the time. I have no inclination to know the dates that the provinces joined Canada, yet I knew it and I was tested on it.

Also, a lot of people don't really have the "larger thinking" mentality. This is related to what I said above, most people (except for teachers and professors and the like) have difficulty evaluating arguments. When they themselves were doing writing or other work like that, they knew not to make spelling mistakes, and some general rules like "Put the strongest argument last" but not a whole lot of principles to follow (such as cohesion, etc).

We as a society seem to be very detail driven, because it's also what is right in front of us. Asking us to evaluate arguments is essentially asking us to think and people seem to dislike thinking.

Just my random thoughts.

[bellbird]

Interesting how people are so diverse isn't it? I know what you mean by some people being picky and missing the whole point it seems...

I'm an artist by trade, so I'm used to critique, but it just seems like some people cannot look past the tiniest thing to see what you're really saying. I don't know, I'm sure tomorrow I won't even think about it anymore.

Would you agree Artists tend to be more associative thinkers, (Artschool was full of them) where we hop from one idea to another, whereas more logical/systematic people like straight forward (logical) stuff and no 'sidetracking' describing the whole story in full. And some of them, boy they like to get into the nitty gritty fiddly bits haha.... to each their own I guess. Point being here is that it's far more inspiring to be positive to ask what someone means and listen/contribute then to start yapping about some minor detail or getting annoyed.
(One of my goals is to listen more and talk less myself haha) Probably we're all best off, like Steve, to move on when the dragging down tendency emerges and keep our eye on the ball and enjoy life You know what it's about what you do and where you are going. So don't worry about it
Could you let us know where you post you're writings online? I would be interested to read it please.

PS: I really enjoyed Steve's blog about the Brightest bear, did you read it?

[Fifth_Column_Media]

bellbird, Just check out my online magazine, The Sights & Sounds from the Fifth Column (Sights & Sounds from the Fifth Column - Music, Art, Social Issues & More) for my work. It's designed to be a magazine and because currently it is not my only or even my first job I don't get to write as much as I'd like. Instead I accept contributions and syndicate other works I think are important, but I write at least one lengthy article a week and I'm shooting for more like every other day. It's a pretty broad publication so I won't go into detail about what I write about or publish, it's all there on the site. I don't want to be too blatantly self promotional.

I actually did just read Steve's Brightest Bear post and also liked it a lot. I agree with a lot of what you said bellbird. I guess it's part of that right versus left brain idea for artists.

I went to art school and I met some very logical process and critical artists too though. Strange, I have a background in math as well so I may have even be one of them lol. Actually the strangest part about art school (to get briefly off topic) was that a lot of art students were very deep and philosophical, but missed out on a lot of the silly fun parts of life. Go figure.

You can see some of my art at my magazine as well if you're interested. Nothing very recent though.

Anyways, back to the topic.

It is interesting how different people are. I like your thoughts on why some people are so critical RT Wolf as society as a partial cause seems likely. In fact I like everyone's replies. It's pretty much what I was expecting to hear and what I was thinking, these overly critical people just got to me briefly I guess.

I appreciate the help as a little reassurance was all I needed. In the end I guess I'll put my faith in the idea that if I'm doing good and promoting positive ideas (which I think I am, trying to promote positive, people oriented ideas) then I'll succeed and make a difference. I think I learned that from one of Steve's articles.

Thanks again,

[Liara Covert]

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." -Albert Einstein

In life, its unlikely you can please everyone or successfully become absolutely everyone's friend. Why not remind yourself that you can learn about yourself and your creative potential as much from critiques as from positive feedback. As you develop a thicker skin and learn not to take all comments seriously, you can learn to figure out how you can benefit from critics and better your work. Consider criticism as a new opportunity to grow.

I'm glad you find exchanges on this forum useful. It's easy to think you don't have the ability to do something just because you haven't tried it. You began your thread stating bluntly that you're "not a writer," but the fact that you expressed yourself using words proves that you can and do write. Remind yourself that you can be your greatest enemy as well as your own greatest cheering section. It's up to you to decide.

[Fifth_Column_Media]

Liara,

Thank you for your input. I like your reply a lot as I think you really pinpointed my problem: I'm my own worst enemy in these situations. I'm going to start a new thread related to this as I have recently come to make some changes in my publication directly related to the discussions I've had on this forum.

Take care,

D.A.N.

Owner/Editor - The Soul of Rock 'n' Roll
Music/Rock and Roll Blog - The Soul of Rock ‘n’ Roll

Owner/Editor - Sights & Sounds from the Fifth Column
The Fifth Column Online Magazine - Sights & Sounds from the Fifth Column - Social Issues, Politics and Improving the World

A division of Fifth Column Media -- Freelance Graphic/Web/Multimedia Design
Fifth Column Media - Freelance Graphic, Web and Multimedia Design

[Liara Covert]

Hi D.A.N.

I wish you much continued success with the evolution of your projects. The more you expand your perception and develop self-confidence, the more likely you are to recognize different ways available to assist you to improve.

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." - Scott Adams

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for." - Sir John Lubbock

"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced." - Vincent Van Gogh

[bellbird]

Hi again. I had a look on your website and read your post on global warming. It looks to me that you are a fine writer indeed and no worries whatsoever. Good stuff.
Keep up the good work ol' boy Thanks. Will keep reading your website