Guess What ~ Not Quitting

 

I can either wallow in self-pity or pull up my pants and do the work. And guess what? Today I wrote some of the best lines I've ever written. And I knew what every word meant!  A teacher wrote a review accusing me of, essentially, writing a story with a thesaurus. You know what they say about teachers, right? I can't wait to read her book. Oh, she can't write one? Shame. I guess she can just continue on her merry way, venting her frustrations via book reviews. I know a guy, an accomplished musician, who enjoys critiquing others' songs, yet he's never written one complete song in his life. But, like the teacher, he can "picture" himself doing it.

Second Chance is going to be awesome. Nobody but me will know, but "me" is all I care about anymore. No, I haven't plotted out the story, but somehow it's falling into place. And I'm not scene-jumping. Thus, this one will be long. So be it. 

My husband keeps telling me that I need to get into songwriting again, but I'm just not feeling it. Yet, to assuage his newfound zeal, I pulled up an mp3 of a song I wrote back around 2011 or 2013 (it's difficult to remember). I liked its lyrics and I'd gotten some kudos on it when I shared it on the FAWM website. Someone compared it to something Townes Van Zant might have written. When I went to dutifully transcribe the lyrics as my husband requested, I was taken aback by the loveliness of them. I wrote that? That's damn good! Guess what? I'm not a loser!

Yes, I almost quit yesterday. The personal attack (which is what that review was) really hurt. She also noted that she'd have to read more of my work to determine if I was, in essence, really this crappy. Fine. But in order to do her analysis, she'll need to pay for a book this time. Apparently I'm her pet project now, and she's salivating to rip my other books as well. Then give me money, teacher! No more freebies. It almost feels like she's on a mission to have me pull my books from Amazon, given that she's intent on writing devastating reviews and ensuring no one buys them. Why? How are my books hurting her? I don't understand some people's delight in cruelty.

This is exactly why I won't quit. I refuse to be intimidated. She's never going to know about Second Chance, unless she continues her sleuthing. And if she does find it and leaves a shitty review, I'll report her for harassment. 

Look, I'll take negative reviews. No author likes getting them, but they're just a fact of life. What I won't take is being degraded. 

And now I'm done with this little episode. Certain things simply needed to be said.