Publishing vs. blogging

[randy_byers]

So I'm in the final stages of writing my Worldcon report. This is always the most difficult part of the process for me, because at this point it looks like a barrel of unappetizing sludge to my eyes. The sentences are awkward, the paragraphs are incoherent, and the arguments and observations are, frankly, stupid and reveal me for a self-centered, self-deluded, and altogether clapped-out fraud. Now, I've been through this process enough times to know that at least part of it is just psychological flak and failure of self-confidence, but of course that doesn't help me to see what changes might actually improve the damned thing. Fortunately this is intended for publication in a fanzine, and the editors of said fanzine will give me feedback so that I'm not just stuck with the confused messages from my nasty-ass backbrain.

But I really hate this part of the writing process, and I'm struck by how different it is to write for my LiveJournal. I almost never suffer this level of self-doubt when I write here, because I'm not writing for publication. It's just a fricking LiveJournal, so who cares how incoherent it is? Roll your eyes and move on to the next post, right? Which isn't to say that I don't fuss over my writing here. I frequently revise my LJ posts, even after it's not likely that anyone else will ever look at them again. But I never get to the stage of thinking, "This is just crap, and I have no idea how to fix it. I stink."

Is this why some people give up writing for publication and just blog instead?

Comments

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

Based on interviews I've read, alot of novel writers suffer a similar experience when they are finished or very close to finishing a book.

It sometimes happens to me no matter what I'm writing, but I don't know why.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

So do you get that kind of anxiety about writing an LJ post? I don't remember that I ever have, although it's more than possible that I've forgotten a few times where I abandoned a post because I thought it was crap. Although sometimes that's because the post actually *is* crap.

[trinfaneb.livejournal.com]

I have felt that way about a few LJ posts, but like you said, that's mostly because they *were* crap :)

I'm much more likely to feel that way about fiction, academic, or work stuff though.