We Could Live for 1,000 Years

Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow
No tomorrow
No tomorrow
And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I ever had

Dealing with feedback is a special skill, I think. Some people seem to revel in getting criticism. Those super-positive people who love receiving and giving the bluntest possible feedback for the purpose of improving a piece... as if the piece were some math equation that could be fixed by tending to a few steps that were overlooked or miscalculated.

Some people criticize a writer for not being able to take criticism. But I can't relate to the people who don't have a hard time weathering it. Is the writing process that easy for them? That mechanical? Such that they don't wince a little when their baby is torn open and dismantled in front of them?

But yes, it is part of the price for putting your work out there. Letting your child walk out onto the streets.

For me, I've gotta keep in mind where it's coming from. Who it's coming from. What they're saying and how much of it is valid and/or useful to me. All the internal self-doubt is inclined to latch onto the negative shit for validation. That is not fucking useful.

It's so easy for some writers. To hear their own words spoken by other people, to field the spectrum of reactions. Do they have souls? Do they dream of electric sheep?

And then there's me. Putting way too much effort into everything. A gentle wind hurts my skin. I've probably chosen one of the most dangerous careers for my personality type.

At the end of the day, it's just you and the computer, and whatever it takes for you to get more writing done. Trying to block out all the negative bullshit, and the small-minded feedback, and the well-meaning comments from people who may resent you because they have some preconception of who you might be. But no one has any idea who you really are. Not at the end of the day when there's no one around except the demons that like to watch your progress...

Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen
Sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me
No one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me
Look right through me