I get asked some strange questions.
‘Can you turn into an animal?’ (I don’t think so, but I’ll keep trying.)
‘How old are you?’ (In dog years, I’m 7.)
‘Are you famous?’ (Are you kidding?)
‘Did you invent Spongebob?’ (Haha! I wish!)
Readers are curious about this stuff, I guess, which is hilarious and flattering, and it’s one of the reasons I love visiting schools and bookstores to talk about THE TURNERS, SQUIDGE DIBLEY and the rollercoaster life of being a writer.
A while back when I was speaking to a group of primary school kids in Queensland about creative writing, a student asked:
‘WHAT IF I WRITE SOMETHING AND SOMEONE SAYS THAT IT’S NO GOOD?’
It was a brave thing to ask. It goes to the very heart of what every writer worries about while they are working on a story. I’ve thought about that question a lot.
At the time, I answered that anyone who decides to do anything creative – be it writing, drawing. acting, filmmaking, singing or dancing – will face criticism from people around them. Sometimes you might even come across people who just want to make you feel bad for trying. ‘Haters gonna hate…’ as an actual famous person once said.
It takes courage to ignore what other people say, and intelligence to decide whose opinions really matter to you. Because in the end, you are doing it for yourself. It’s normal on any creative journey to be filled with doubt along the way. But if you’re persistent and you keep practising, you will get there.
And you have to remember why you started in the first place. It takes ZERO effort for someone to be critical. Often people who criticise your creative endeavours are too scared to try doing anything creative themselves.
Not everyone loves my books or drawings. That’s fine. Because some people do. In some cases, lots of people do. (Weirdly, the SQUIDGE DIBLEY books are more popular in Germany than in any other place in the world. Go figure!) But if I worried too much that some people might not like them, I probably wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning.
So, as you are writing your stories, remember that it’s totally okay to worry about whether or not it is good. The most important thing is to keep on going and make it as good as you can with the talent and time you have. Because even though there might be some people who might not like it, there will be those who do!
Just keep writing!
For a chance to WIN a FREE, SIGNED Squidge Dibley book, tell me the best thing anyone has said about a story you’ve written. Or say something nice (or not!) about one of my books. COMMENT BELOW! (Final book winners chosen by 5pm on March 31, 2022.)
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