How Not To Hate Your Writing
______________

Whenever we begin to compare apples to oranges,
something's gonna sour: these are different fruits, so
of course they taste differently to the palate-- but
who would ever say one is better than the other?
We like them both.

That is such a simple analogy but honestly, it applies to
writing styles as well. Who would dare pit Whitman against
Eliot, or lay Dickinson alongside Dickey, and with a straight
face-- try and decide who is the better writer? And if we cannot
begin to compare these, why do we see ourselves so often
in comparison to other poets writing today?

The surest way to erode confidence is to begin to compare
your own work with that of others-- want to ruin a Sunday? Just
take a stroll around the internet and start to read other poets
- not for enjoyment - but in a spirit of pure competitiveness
and I can guarantee a very dismal time indeed--the words,
"There simply is no comparison" should always apply.

We're apples and oranges.

Once you've developed a 'style'- (and that comes from writing
and writing and writing until the lines slip on like a comfortable
old sweater)- you are pretty much 'stuck' with who you are - and I
mean in a good sense. There's nobody else will sound quite like
you, and I say quite- because there are folks who may try to mimic
the way you sound- but they'll fail on some level if your writing
is honest. When it's honest, it's like DNA-- and who can fault
their own DNA for being only what it is and not a jot else?

You will fall into one catagory or another- sometimes
straddling two or more- but for the most part your writing will
be- 1)ancecdotal- in which you pull from your own life or the
lives around you and tell a story- 2)symbolic and metaphoric-
in which you find metaphors for the larger issues, i.e.- a crow
stands for death, the changing sky becomes the mutability of life
events- or you may decide upon 3)formalism-- and fall into
accepted modes of poetic format such as sonnet, haiku,
sestina, or a plethora of others.

The important thing is to embrace the writer you are. Accept
and develop that, and stop worrying about how great the other
guy sounds or how he can set it down. Variety is everything.
As a writer, you cannot be all things at once. Get to know
what you're good at to find your true gifts, and then
celebrate, celebrate, celebrate.





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