All Writers Are Mean

Side note: Originally, this post was titled "All Writers Are Humblebraggers" but due to the events on 20th February, I have re-written the post.

I've been writing for Vocal Media since April 2020. At the time, there were no social media groups for me to promote my work on (well, none that I could find) so I had to make do with sharing links with my friends and family. About two months ago, I joined a few fast growing groups for Vocal Media.

Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful being able to read everyone's work, being able to talk to writers worldwide, help others and share ideas. However, there's one thing I've noticed about writers. They're all mean as hell.

Jealousy and envy is the main inner battle for writers, it's most definitely mine. A few weeks ago, I had shamefully admitted to myself that I too was a mean writer. Seeing people do better than me, whether it be a Top Story or win a challenge, I was thinking horrid thoughts about the writers work.

"What?! How did they win, it wasn't even that good!"

"This person definitely should have won, not them."

"I just don't understand how this is interesting."

"There's grammatical errors everywhere! How is this good?"

It's really hard not to think like this when you're a writer. Even though everyone is doing their own thing and writing from different perspectives, about different niches and at their own pace, we are all essentially doing the same thing.

Seeing people happy, shine and grow is one of the few good traits I do have. So, why had I let this light die when it came to something I love too? To help conquer this bitterness, I got rid of my Vocal+ membership to stop me from taking part in any more challenges.

What did this do for me? One, it helped me engage (even more than I already did) with other writers work. I've been giving out more hearts and certainly taking time to read more. Two, I've had no bitter or jealous thoughts towards winners of competitions which has been a major relief. Three, I've fallen back in love with writing. This form of art that we all share should not surround evil eye, negativity and fuel big egos but should instead surround learning, encouragement and cooperation.

Last night, I had decided that I was ready to get my Vocal+ membership back and participate in competitions once again. If it gets too much for me, then I can simply pause, reflect and even take it away from myself once again.

Unfortunately, on the 20th February I had come across a bunch of Facebook posts full of writers who aren't in the same positive mindset as me. I shall mention no account names nor writer names.

Someone had been lucky and worked hard enough to first place in a challenge. Multiple people had gathered under one post to critique this victory. To my dismay, the following comments are only a snippet of what was present;

"...1st places writing is clumsy and lazy"

"But first place was a shock."

"...it was also kinda dull."

What?! This isn't nice! Then again, it's Facebook isn't it. I expect nothing less. But what if the winner is reading these comments right now and decided they no longer wants to post again because of the backlash? Or they no longer want to enter competitions? What if they get upset and begin to question the quality of their writing? All because people didn't like what they read. And that's fine, you most certainly don't have to, but to publically address these thoughts and feelings might be a bit harsh.

Am I just being a crybaby? Well, after I had decided to post a comment about us all being mindful about what we say, I had basically been told to shut up, suck it in and watch the winner be picked on. Guess who got blocked after that?

Listen to me, whether you win a challenge or not, life is not all about winning. We do not always have to come first place and you cannot change who does come first place, second, third and so forth.

Some writers are naturally talented, others have to practice before they feel happy. Either way, neither route you take will amount to you being perfect. You're on your own personal writing journey and I do believe that if you attempt to speak bad upon others, then you are blocking your own abundance.

Perhaps if this article resonates with you, take a second to reflect on your work and how you can improve. Where and whom can you reach out to for advice? Do you need to take a break, the same way I did?

If I win another challenge, I sure as hell hope no one dislikes my work enough to take it to social media. Then again, no weapon formed against me shall prosper.