"I CAN'T WRITE? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT?" in "THE WORDPLAY WARRIOR AND THE EX-GUARDIAN OF THE ISOLATED CASTLE"

Disagreeing is one thing, while gaslighting is another. Constructive criticism is much more helpful than just plain accusation.

I love writing. I really, really do. I don’t just write for the sake of it. I can write about a lot of stuff too. I know it.

I think I also remember one thing: I’ve already written about how not all my writing stuff are always that good. I’m not trying to be humble or anything; I’m just stating a simple fact. It is what it is.

I’ve covered a lot of topics, but that doesn’t mean I can write about everything. For example: I’m not a funny person, so don’t expect me to write a comedy. (And yeah, somebody once claimed that I was too slow to catch up with other people’s sense of humour. But then again, I don’t find all jokes funny, so deal with it.)

There are also other topics that I need some time to research first. So, if you think writing is that easy, have you ever really tried it?

If you have, was it really from the heart - before you edited it later?

And if you’ve seen a writer’s many published pieces, read and praised them, have you ever seen their first drafts - either in crumpled papers on the floor or in the bin, crossed out lines, or even rejected by some media? Even the professionals started with all that.

It’s nice to receive compliments from people over the published ones (or the pieces accepted by clients.) However, you miss the real hard work behind all of that. You never really know.

So, what does one do when they’re accused of not being able to really write - and that their credibility is questioned or second-guessed?

There are three things to do:

1. Nothing.

2. Talk back out of rage.

3. Elegantly prove you wrong. How? Keep writing. Keep working to get your work published elsewhere. Just because anyone has given up on me already, that doesn’t mean I’m doing the same thing to myself. Never.

My choice is clear. It’s number three. This is why I don’t care what you think, since I’ve got The Grit within.

R.