Lower your standards

Lower your standards!

Yes, you read that right – and it’s something I forgot to mention in ‘Help! I’m stuck’.

This apparently strange bit of advice – actually more of a command – came about because of conversations I’ve had recently with two writers struggling with their novels.  The same problem came up with both of them and I found myself offering the same solution.

This is the issue.  We all have writers we admire and wish we could emulate.  In teenage, I worshipped James Joyce and Samuel Beckett.  The problem, of course, is that it’s almost impossible to get anywhere near either of them.  By even attempting to do so, you’re setting yourself up for failure.  Even if you finish your novel, which is unlikely due to that pressure of perfection, someone somewhere will point out that it’s just a Poundland knock-off of ‘Ulysses’ or whatever.  Yes, we’re all influenced in what we write but influence is something you have to go with and work through in order to find your own voice.  Whatever you do, don’t give yourself a hard time because what you’ve written turns out to be ‘just you’.

There’s been a recent football manager’s mantra that goes something like “I want the players to be the best version of themselves”, no doubt culled from some FA coaching course.  But there’s a grain of truth in it.  As a writer, it’s vitally important that you find your own voice and not a pale imitation of someone else’s.  So in that sense, as a writer, you too are aiming to be the best version of yourself.  We’re all our own harshest critics, so maybe it’s time to be more accepting.  Silence the self-criticism and give yourself a break!

In conclusion, members of the jury, by all means, aim high, but based upon your own standards and not those of writers who have unwittingly (or not) generated sets-texts.  I rest my case.

As always, happy (and less self-critical) writing!